So... Disabled parking thread number 364836353

[BeyondTheLimitsOfAcceptability]

The many threads on the many various parking whinges got me to thinking...

The government are trying to cut the amount of people entitled to disability benefits and therefore higher rate mobility, I would assume?

To the few people on MN that don't know (although there seem to be millions if them in the real world) you can only get a blue badge if you are entitled to higher rate mobility DLA - ie very serious problems. So, if someone is disabled but does not have a blue badge, should they be allowed access to disabled parking? But then obviously everyone would use it, so what could be done about that...?

I'm lucky (ha) at the moment - my mobility is affected but having two little DCs no one can argue that I'm not entitled to use the P&C...

Not technically an AIBU, but what do you think?

you can only get a blue badge if you are entitled to higher rate mobility DLA

Thats incorrect.

You can get a blue badge if you cant walk more than a certain distance (50 metres I think) without assistance. Not getting DLA doesnt make a difference, as not everyone chooses to claim it.

It's fortunate that so many organisations made so much noise campaigning that the government u-turned on the mobility cut.

Actually, I should say that that is correct for my council, other councils may assess differently so there is no "across the board" assessment.

I got a blue badge for one of my children when he needed oxygen and we didnt get any mobility element.

I'll be honest and say I'm biased about this because I'm pretty severely disabled now and I have a blue badge...

But I think while the blue badge system is far from perfect, it is a good way of dealing with disabled parking, if anyone could park there there everyone would.

It can be a pain in the arse to be disabled enough to struggle but not to get a badge and it can be a pain in the arse to be temporarily disabled with a broken leg etc but people would take advantage and even if they didn't there just wouldn't be enough spaces, and then what about parking on double yellow lines?

I used the p&c spaces (with my children before anyone starts throwing buns ) before I got my blue badge, far from ideal but I wouldn't have dreamt of using the spaces without a badge. The day it came I cried with happiness, it has made a huge difference to my life

It would be great if there was a new system for people who needed some help but were not severely disabled like a yellow badge with spaces a little further away that you could get for temporary or less severe problems, but I think if you did away with blue badges it would be chaos

My council are the same Bogeyface, - bluebadge is not linked with DLA at all but assessed on distance able to walk unassisted.

I've had a blue badge for approximately 10 years. I don't receive any DLA as I've never applied, the forms melt my brain and I can't face filling them out.

I've just gone to my council website to check and for mine I am wrong its:

you receive the higher rate of the mobility component of the Disability Living Allowance
you receive a War Pensioners? Mobility Supplement
you use a motor vehicle supplied for disabled people by a Government Health Department
you are registered blind
you have a severe disability in both upper limbs, regularly drive a motor vehicle but cannot turn the steering wheel of a motor vehicle by hand even if that wheel is fitted with a turning knob
you have a permanent and substantial disability which means you are unable to walk or have very considerable difficulty in walking. In this case you may be asked to answer a series of questions to help the local authority determine whether you are eligible for a badge

Maytheodds - i like the suggestion re a "yellow" badge or something

But I know it does vary by area, which is possibly where I made up DLA only from :)

I got a bb before I had even submitted my DLA application.

I can't walk for about 2 weeks out of 4 due to my treatments and fluctuating functioning in my condition. We actually very rarely use the disabled if it's full as if I'm in my wheelchair it doesn't matter how far.

I just sigh at people in disabled spaces with no badge my my dad has become a confrontational voluntary traffic warden, lecturing people who don't display a badge!! Even though he lives 60 miles away

My stepson has higher rate DLA (autism, SLD, ADHD) and he can certainly walk. And run.
He doesn't have a blue badge and probably rightly so, as his problems are not to do with mobilty.

My parents have a blue badge because they are blind. They can physically walk unaided, but negotiating a busy carpark is very tricky for them and they need someone to guide them.

I get higher rate mobility DLA so have a blue badge.
I was turned down by my local authority for a blue badge before applying for DLA as they said they didn't believe my disability was permanent and i might improve.

I'm in a wheelchair self propeling so get the blue badge without DLA.

sorry pressed to soon, I simply can't get out of my car at all, to shop without a disabled bay in supermarkets, and I frequently struggle to manage the post office with a badge, lord help me without it.

My dad has a blue badge and isn't in receipt of DLA (he is appealing though) So I can only assume it does vary a lot from area to area

My council is one of those that is very hardline on the blue badge restrictions. I can't walk unaided, I've been on crutches since last may, I have had a lifelong mobility disability since I was 19 but because it fluctuates and I don't get higher rate DLA they assessed that I didn't need one. The result is that when it's bad I don't go out as much, sometimes I'll go somewhere and if I can't park somewhere where I don't need to walk for miles & the space is big enough for me to get out with the crutches without bashing cars I'll go home . It's shit but I'm used to it.
I utilise online shopping a lot.

wonkylegs I struggle too. Had a badge for 5 years and now, with the new rules they have decided I don't need one.

I hardly go anywhere now and fuel costs too much to find out I can't park near where I need to be. Thanks Bromsgrove Council.

Anyone who becomes disabled after the age of 65 does not qualify to claim DLA regardless of their level of Disability. So there will be many older people out there who will have Blue Badges because of the limited distance they can walk, but who do not get DLA at all - my mum included!
I feel sure this will be the same in your area OP, otherwise they would be discriminating against old people!

My Mum cannot get a Blue Badge, as a passenger and this is becoming the norm, in my LA, for adults not in reciept of DLA.

We park in P&C spaces (if we have to), as because she cannot get a badge, we have to take her wheelchair, just for a supermarket shop and she has trouble getting out of the car in an ordinary bay.

Just fitting the criteria of not being able to walk and it being a life long condition, doesn't mean that you will get a Blue Badge.

I don't think that our society is as disability friendly as those who are not dealing with a daily disability, think it is.

My parents have a blue badge because they are blind.

Sorry I'm being thick - how do they drive the car?

Monthly That is a bad rule (tax exempt cars only) because wheelchair users really need the wide parking bays but many don't apply for tax exemption because then the car can only be used by them or on errands for them. A family might only have one car so it needs to be usable by the non disabled members too.

Cheddar - I don't drive, I'm always a passenger, but have a blue badge. I'm medically unfit to drive (lost my license due to disability) but can use my badge in any vehicle I travel in.

Birds - does your mum not get a badge because she doesn't drive? That's not right, it's about having a disabled passenger too.

We only use mine when I am struggling to walk more than a few steps. We can't use it if I stay in the car, but dh can use it if he's parking to pick me up from work or something else.

My dad likes taking me out in his car, as the novelty of being allowed to park on double yellows hasn't worn off!!