Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

for parking in a disabled bay (I have a blue badge)?

33 replies

SammyTheSwedishSquirrel · 08/10/2012 11:03

Because I've just been to get some bread and milk and have received a right bollocking for doing so :(

There are 2 disabled bays, one had a vehicle (people carrier type) in it, so I parked in the free one. Hauled myself out of the car, got my walker out of the boot and assembled it and then saw a sticker on the side window saying 'disabled vehicle please leave 8ft free for access purposes'. I wasn't sure what to do. There wasn't 8ft between the vehicles probably more like 5 or 6, but I needed to park too and the only other choice would have been the empty part of the carpark which is too far for me to walk. So I went to get my shopping, figured I'd be fairly quick anyway.

When I got back to my car there was a man sitting in the other vehicle. He got out when he saw me, pointed to notice and asked me if I could read and then had a go at me for ignoring it and as a disabled person I should know better and be more considerate of the needs of others. He made me feel like shit :(

Was I being unreasonable and is he allowed to claim 2 spaces like this?

OP posts:
dexter73 · 08/10/2012 11:06

Perhaps he should be considerate of other disabled people and not had a massive go at you!

McHappyPants2012 · 08/10/2012 11:09

yanbu, the spot was empty and you have a blue badge.

I would say they need to rething the car they have or have a Rear access conversion done to the car they have atm

LilyCocoplatt · 08/10/2012 11:09

YANBU to park there and he WBU to think he can claim 2 spaces, if that was the case then he should have parked in the empty part of the carpark to make sure he had an empty space next to him not monopolised all available disabled parking which other blue badge holders have the need to use.

threesocksmorgan · 08/10/2012 11:10

wow
ya so nbu
he can't have 2 disabled bays
cheeky sod

harrietspy · 08/10/2012 11:10

No, you weren't being unreasonable. You were parking in a disabled bay. Sorry you had such a horrible start to the day.

BionicEmu · 08/10/2012 11:11

I think YANBU. I'm not disabled, but MIL is and has a blue badge. Whenever I've seen the "please leave 8ft for access" stickers I've always assumed they mean leave 8ft to the rear of the car, for loading/unloading a wheelchair etc.

FWIW I think he should be more considerate of the needs of others. You need a disabled bay, have a blue badge etc, but he is saying you shouldn't have parked there.

Original poster
SammyTheSwedishSquirrel · 08/10/2012 11:12

Thank you so much. He made me feel so bad I was starting to doubt myself. I'm not very confident when out on my own at the best of times.

OP posts:
avivabeaver · 08/10/2012 11:12

not sure, but if the issue is wheelchair access, surely it would have made more sense for him to park in the ordinary, further away spot with better chance of him not being parked in? Or gone the whole hog and parked in the middle of the 2 spaces? There is an adapted car locally that does this, parks across 2 spaces (one in front of the other) in the ordinary spaces to avoid this issue.

ibizagirl · 08/10/2012 12:22

Seen this sign a few times on cars parked at Tesco and Sainsburys. I think it is for rear access for wheelchairs as there isn't 8ft between the spaces. I have also get some stares and comments off blue badge holders who should mind their own business. I am a full time carer for my grandparents and they both have blue badges. I am the driver. So when i am taking either of them shopping or doctors or hospital the blue badge is for THEM and not me. I have been stopped at Tesco before saying i would be reported when clearly you can see it is for my Nan!! Heard peole saying "there is nothing wrong with her". Had an old woman have a go at me at the hospital when i was collecting my Nan after she had been in for 2 weeks. Was told that i would be reported to the police and she was going to get security and make them move my car because "she needed the space". Explained it was for my Nan and was called all sorts. It was disgusting. Told the woman to wait til i collected my Nan from the ward so she could check if she wanted to but she just carried on ranting. They need to know the full facts.

FreakySnuckerCupidStunt · 08/10/2012 12:29

You had just as much right to park there as he did, horrible man.

honeytea · 08/10/2012 12:36

YANBU, he clearly did manage to get into this car so I cant't see what the problem was, it sounds like he was causing himself more trouble getting out (and I imagine back into) his car just to tell you off.

If he needed the extra space I think he should have parked over 2 spaces.

greenhill · 08/10/2012 12:43

Poor you. I'm sure you were as quick as you could be, under the circumstances, and considering you only had a few items to get.

Was he a carer to someone waiting by the side of the car, or had he deliberately waited to tell you off when they were in the car? He does not own the bay, after all.

My DM has hidden disabilities, so when my DF, her carer, hires a car and they park with all the relevant badges displayed etc they can sometimes get bad mouthed for parking in a disabled space, as she doesn't use a wheelchair, but has good days and bad days. They don't always park in a disabled space because of this.

Sometimes I think some carers to people with disabilities think they can trump another person's disability with theirs Sad.

YANBU

Original poster
SammyTheSwedishSquirrel · 08/10/2012 12:47

Greenhill, he was the driver not the person needing extra access space. I didn't see anyone else, but then the back windows were darkened so you couldn't see into the back.

OP posts:
greenhill · 08/10/2012 12:53

So, because he was having a bad day, he wanted to pass the badness on! Yeah, that really makes everyone feel better... I hope you've had a soothing [ brew] and here are some Thanks

I hope your day improves sammy

Original poster
SammyTheSwedishSquirrel · 08/10/2012 13:05

Thanks. I stopped off at the bakery on the way home and bought myself a cream cake Blush

OP posts:
Lueji · 08/10/2012 13:18

The people carrier could have a ramp to the side?

Otherwise it is odd, and most ramps or lifts are to the back.

Still, I'd think such a large space would be for stretchers, not wheelchairs.

Original poster
SammyTheSwedishSquirrel · 08/10/2012 13:39

Lueji, that's what I didn't understand. The sticker that he was angry about was on the sliding sidedoor window, but there was also one on the back. Confused

OP posts:
bigbluebus · 08/10/2012 16:02

If the notice was in the side window, then I assume he had a side entry wheelchair ramp. If he did, then he was a bit cheeky to park where he did and not expect anyone to occupy the adjacent space.

My car has a rear access ramp for my DDs wheelchair - with a sticker in the back window. For this reason, I never use on street parking, as I am always worried that I will not be able to get DD back into the car if the vehicle behind me changes whilst I am gone. The only time I park on the road is if I get the end space where double yellow lines start or there is a keep clear or access point behind me, where noone is likely to park. Then I am bloody annoyed if someone parks behind me (but think I have the right to be in those circumstances).

I am quite capable of pushing DD a few extra yards for the sake of a safe parking space and if this person had an electric wheelchair, then I'm sure they could do the same for the sake of ensuring access to their vehicle.

So, no, YANBU to park in a designated disabled bay with a blue badge. The other person needs to lose their sense of entitlement and think of their own needs and not expect everyone else to think for them!

LadyInDisguise · 08/10/2012 16:10

But why would you have a side access to the car when you know you will always need 8ft of clear space in front of it.
It must be extremely difficult to ever find a space with 8ft free next to the door? Or am I missing something?

Seriously, Leaving space behind a vehicle sounds very logical but it never crossed my mind that you could expect a whole car space free next to you.

CelstialNavigation · 08/10/2012 16:33

I think you can have more seats if you go for side access. Our car is a 4 seater max but if side access instead of rear it would be a 7 seater! People also overlook this issue when they are buying a car sometimes. When someone warned me about it it seemed very obvious but it didn't occur to me straight off.

Wheelchair accessible taxis seem to have side access a lot (I assume so that they can carry more people on a bench seat across the back of the car) but it works ok for them as they are always dropping off/picking off not parking really.

bigbluebus · 08/10/2012 16:54

Some vehicles are adapted so that the wheelchair user can enter the car in their wheelchair and drive whilst sitting in their wheelchair. That type of vehicle is usually side access - but it doesn't sound as though this was the case here as OP said the driver was sitting in the vehicle - in which case, either he managed to get in whilst she was parked (so whats the problem) or he was in there, waiting to get out when OP parked, in which case he could have moved his car out of the space and parked somewhere else.

Common sense should tell you that if you have a rear access vehicle, you should park in a car park with side by side bays(on the back row if there are 2 rows of cars), but if you have a side access vehicle, you need to park on the road where there is access onto a pavement. It is not rocket science!!!

starfishmummy · 08/10/2012 17:00

In an ideal world it would be nice to leave a space but those stickers are not legally binding.
Presumably as he got out of the vehicle he was not the wheelchair user who required the rear lift/ramp to be used so he was being v u. as he onbviously managed to get in the vehicle anyway. If he had a wheelchair user with him, surely he could just have pulled forward a bit to let them in.

LadyInDisguise · 08/10/2012 17:01

Very good point about moving the car so that the wheelchair user can go in.

halloweeneyqueeney · 08/10/2012 17:03

yanbu I don't see why the driver couldn't have pulled out of the space and put the hazards on then done what he needed to do for the wheelchair user to get in

Iodine · 08/10/2012 17:10

YANBU he sounds horrible. I hate this culture now where people think it is acceptable to shout at others. I don't blame you for being shaken up by it.

Swipe left for the next trending thread