to think that blue badges should not be used as "drive and park anywhere badges"

[CrazyRainbowLady]

I work in a pedestrian zone. The sign at the top of the road is a no entry sign with exception for permit holders between 4pm and 10am. The road is wide enough for one car or van to pass through, but not much more.
There is a takeaway place just down the road from where I work, and every day at the end of my working day at 5.30pm, I get the car to load equipment in I need to take home, then I have to, at times, wait up to 30 minutes for various people to return with their takeaways before I can drive down through the pedestrian zone and go home.
Today a guy was driving in front of me, stopped right outside the takeaway place in the middle of the street, got out of his car and walked to the door.
I asked him politely to move as he was blocking the way through, and that it was a permit holders acces only road, and he told me to "come off it, love, I have a blue badge, I can drive and park wherever I want."

This is not the first time I have encountered this attitude since I started working there a year ago.
I get tutted at when I roll dowm the road at 2mph, with my permit on display, but this is ok because they have a blue badge?

Perhaps be grateful you dont need a blue badge

I didn't think even blue badge entitled you to block the road.

Now you are making assumptions.

Blue badges here mean you can park on double yellows. This means that people regularly park in dangerous places, either causing obstructions or blocking views.

The whole point of a double yellow is that it is not suitable to park there, surely this should be the case.

I agree that disabled people should have accessible parking. My dad is in a wheelchair and I really appreciate the extra wide bays, but will only park in proper parking spots.

I really feel this issue should be looked at. Double yellows should be absolutely no parking. Single yellows restricted including disabled parking.

There was a Blue Badge holder parked in a Bus Stop blocking an entire lane (and the bus stop) for the whole of Saturday on our High St. I totally agree there should be some (common sense) restrictions.

Blue badges don't mean you can 'park wherever you want' they mean you can park where it is 'safe and unobstructive' to do so and there are a minority of badge holders who'd do well to remember that.

I agree that there should be space for parking. In this case the nearest suitable space with disabled access is about 10 metres further down the road on a perpendicular street's corner.
I wouldn't even mind so much if a passenger was dropped off while the driver goes back round or to park somewhere else, but the way people here believe that they can park wherever they like because they have a blue badge baffles me. Surely the road needs to be passable for emergency access?

I knew someone once with that attitude crazy, he was an arrogant man with a large chip on his shoulder.
I was in town at the time and saw his abandoned car causing chaos on double yellows opposite a tight junction. I later found out he'd been ticketed and refused to pay because he was disabled.
Whilst the whole thing was going on he did it again and again got another ticket. Lots of arguing with the council ensued and finally he paid up.
Never did see him parked there again.

you can have my childs BB
if you want, she would rather not need it

Samcro - Don't you think that is a rather unfair comment? The op has not said that people shouldn't have blue badges or that she wants a blue badge.
It is not unreasonable to expect all members of society to give some thought to others, having a blue badge does not give anyone carte blanche to cause total chaos and block off a whole street

Market day in our local town is murder. Most streets are one way, with parking on one side. When the parking spaces are full, people with blue badges park half on the pavement, on the dropped curbs - obstructing wheelchair users, buggies etc - all on the other, double-yellowed, side. Then the delivery lorries try to get down there.... It's chaos! The town goes into gridlock.

Don't get me started on people (any people!) who park on double yellows on corners, which mean that anything bigger than a small van can't actually make the turn into the road - again, one way, narrow streets.

I get that people with blue badges have special allowances, parking-wise, that they are more than entitled to, but it's just not safe sometimes. Perhaps standards are needed throughout the country (i.e. you can or can't park on double-yellows full stop) to clear up some of the confusion?

A blue badge does allow the holder to park in some places that are otherwise restricted, but does not authorise the holder to park like an idiot or in places that cause danger or obstruction to other road users or pedestrians. You can get a parking ticket just like any other driver who does the same. In some car parks the blue badge holder is exempt from fees, in others they are allowed extra time, in some they have to pay the parking fee the same as any other user.

If you have routine abuse of the local permit system you could try and interest your local police or parking enforcement agency in doing spot checks. But don't hold out too much hope, there little reward in it for them sadly.

Bit harsh samcro, regardless of badge the driver was illegally parked.

do not park your vehicle where it will cause an obstruction or hold up traffic

From ask the police, here.m.askthe.police.uk/content/Q388.htm?viewsinglecontentelementid=11954

Contact your council they will tell you if someone with a blue badge can do that. Years ago a car had parked on the white line where you entered a side turning which meant my 2 children and I on our bikes had to go on the wrong side of the road to enter it. A man got out and when into the post office so I went to speak to him. I told him that he couldn't park where he had, all he said was I have a blue badge and I can park where I like. I rang the local police who was charge of parking then and they said that he couldn't park there and they would visit him at home. I saw his car loads of times after that but never in a dangerous position. I have a blue badge and the council send a booklet with the rules every time it is renewed so I don't know where some people get the idea that they can park anywhere and for how long they like.

Yy OP. UADNBU

It's gridlock sometimes because people just stop (at a blind corner, exit or in the middle of traffic), shove the badge on the windscreen and wander off

To the PP who suggested that pointing out docking, immature, inconsiderate or dangerous parking=undermining the BB scheme or being mean to the disabled, grow up and realise that by ignoring the spirit of the badge you are doing more to turn people against the advantages of the scheme.

this leaflet sent out with the badge its pretty clear about loading only zones on page 20.

I was out last week and parked on-street leaving a space in front of my car where another car could easily fit. A chap with a blue badge left that space empty and parked on the double yellows in front of that really close to a junction

I wonder if some users think they can't use normal parking spaces with a blue badge and have to use concessionary places

Sometimes you can get longer on double yellows-3 hrs, than you can get on adjacent on road parking spaces

In my county they will take a BB away if people abuse them by parking 'where they like' that's made clear when you are sent a badge. I thought it was the same everywhere

As a parent of a child with a blue badge...
YANBU

I don't park anywhere with double yellows or in permit holder zones.

Unfortunately there are a lot of people with blue badges, if they all parked like this no one would be able to drive anywhere, including other disabled people.

YANBU. He should not have parked there.

I do believe however that abuse of disabled parking spaces/misuse of blue badges is a far greater problem than poor parking by blue badge holders, in general.

Why are people having a pop at the OP suggesting she should be grateful she doesn't need a blue badge? How ridiculous and unfair!

At no point has she had a dig at blue badge holders in general or said anything to suggest she thinks those with blue badges shouldn't have them. She is simply saying a minority should not be abusing their right to park more easily by obstructing or blocking access to roads!

OP, yanbu atall.

This used to wind my Grandfather up massively, he was severly disabled by the time he died but was quick to point out that being disabled didn't give you permission to "park like an idiot"

I am all for ensuring that people with disabilities can park as close as possible to things and that they have adequate access to things but the parking of a minority simply makes life harder for everyone including others with disabilities.

People who legitimately have blue badges can't really "walk about for hours on end so they can park further away'. That's the whole point.