AIBU to be incredulous that this really does happen IRL?!

[ifyourehoppyandyouknowit]

Just saw a carpark skirmish between a car with a blue badge and a car with a baby, over the last parent and child space, at a big chain supermarket. All disabled bays were full, only one PAC space left, both car reach the space at the same time. Man in blue badge holding car waves blue badge from window, people with child in the car kick off and start shouting about how he should park in the disabled bays, saying that they don't care if they are all full that is a parent and child space. I just kind of stood there open mouthed. Plenty of space to park further back in the car park as it wasn't that full. Oh, and no one was going to dissolve because the carpark is under cover.

I'm just that this really actually happens in real life! I thought it was kind of a internet ranty thing and that no one would be dickheaded enough to actually challenge a blue badge holder's right to use a PAC space outside of the internet!

And now I feel like I should have said something, but the shouty parents didn't seem like they were the type to listen to anything except the sound of their own voices.

So am I BU and very naive?

P & C spaces were a mistake IMO. The sense of entitlement they have generated is beyond silly.
Shops should have wider spaces for parking than they used to, and the only reserved spaces should be for BB holders.
Or just stop marking ordinary parking bays altogether, then the driver decides how much space they need.

If someone had triplets then my need to get a 19 year old into a wheelchair, who by the way is 2 ft taller than me and heavier, is much greater IMO. I cannot believe that someone would think a child / children in a buggy overrides someone with a disability.

What about if the parent had 3 day old triplets and was a LP?
Then I would think the LP was crazy and should've got the shopping delivered.

Some people are just vile

I was reverse parking into a disabled bay. Some bloke tried to drive into the space before me, screaming at me and waving his disabled badge.

I'm 44 and not disabled, my mum is and was with me and has a disabled badge.

I too waved her disabled badge at him, lets just say he back tracked quickly !

'What about if the parent had 3 day old triplets and was a LP? Who gets priority then?'

Then the supermarket should delegate some 16 year old to teach her about online shopping? Or she could park further away with more space and walk with her triplets? Or she could set off a 'P&C' alarm and a designated member of staff could rush out and help her.
I see yellow bunnies on posts with a red nose you could push for personalised service.

I was about to say the same as Eyesunderarock. This is why I hate the whole concept of P&C spaces. What began as a courtesy is now seen as an absolute right by some parents, who begrudge those spaces to disabled people, elderly people, people recovering from surgery, and anyone else, no matter what their circumstances, who doesn't have a child in the back of the car.

It's totally ridiculous the way some parents carry on and just seems to encourage a precious 'I'm more important than anyone else because I've got a baby' attitude.

I found a sign similar to the one I was thinking of. I could do the artwork, all I need is an electrician.
img0041.popscreencdn.com/123433267_amazoncom-happy-bunny-all-about-me-life-size-poster-.jpg

No... It's real enough.
Mind you I had to park in a p&c with DS who is 9, his blue badge expired and the new one isn't here yet.

That went down well. So I just rolled out the "I'm a parent, he's a child" line to the cats bum mouthers.

cravey I was not being obtuse at all, if you read my post referring to the spaces near the store I said that the ones on the end were wheelchair accessible.

This happened to my brother recently, he parked in a P&C space and displayed his Blue Badge, some bellend proceeded to have a go at him for not parking in the (full) disabled bays. Fucking nobbers.

Well, not all disabled people are wheelchair users. They may just have a disability that means it's better if they don't have far to walk. The key advantage of P&C spaces is not that they're near to the store, but that they are big enough to allow you to pick up a car seat and put it in the trolley. It is impossible to do that on an ordinary sized space.

I'm surprised at the shop that has their disabled spaces further away than normal ones.

My dad has a blue badge but isn't in a wheel chair. He doesn't need a bigger space but he does need one close to the shop as he can't walk very far. He walks with a tri walker thingy.

BearBehind The man was waving his blue badge to explain to the parents why he was parking in a P&C space, he wasn't waving it as a 'divine right'.

xp Hackmum.

I agree VivA. My late father had a blue badge because he had breathing problems and couldn't walk very far. It wasn't so much an extra wide space he needed, as one very close to the shop.

tripecity I really don't think you can comment on my moral compass.

I think it is still bad manners to wave your blue badge around even if you are more entitled to the space but I am unsure how else a badge holder could make their point.

I was not aware that they had prioity in a P and C space and have apologised for my ignorance

I think it's because people equate their buggy to a wheelchair ... Therefore the effort needed to get a buggy out is the same as the effort of a disabled person, therefore, no priority. Also if people are tired /stressed/ with a new born etc alot of people see that as equating to being disabled, as for them, they are less able than usual...

if only being disabled were really like that

Why is it bad manners to wave your blue badge? It's the same as waving a 'pass' to get into a building or something. You're just showing the other person that you have a relevant badge or sticker.

Bearbehind
I was just pulling off quotes all ready to have a go. Well done you, it take courage and dignity to apologise publicly.

viva the spaces I was on about are on the row across from the disabled ones and the store entrance is huge so they are as close to the store.

it's got nothing to with entitlement, the man in question would most probably have to go home if he couldn't get into a space that was wide enough and close enough to the store

we can assume the parents withe baybee could have parked anywhere

it's just common sense

I think Beahbehind's post explains the problem. Most people would just know that a disabled person should have priority in a P&C space, it shouldn't have to be explained. But some parents really do assume, until told otherwise, that they have a more important claim to these spaces. I can't understand it, but they do.

I get people giving me dirty looks if I sit in the disabled spaces with my dd on the park and ride (she has sld/autism/Pd's too) I am just waiting for the day someone actually says something to me
atm we just smile at them :)

Redtractoryellowtractor Thu 13-Jun-13 16:13:04

"Fair enough - it would have been more polite for them to give it to the driver with a disability but what would he have done if all the P&C and all the spaces for people with a disability had been full?"

Quite likely gone home without shopping.

That is what people don't realise about disabilities: a lot of the time, unless adjustments are made, you simply can't do things. At all.

If I had ds in a buggy and the buggy space was full, I could simply fold the buggy and carry him on. If I had dd in the wheelchair and the space was full, we couldn't travel. There's a difference.