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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask what disability a person could have

378 replies

Margomyhero · 13/03/2018 17:22

to park outside the gym and run 30 minutes on the treadmill?

I am genuinely curious about this one.

I got out of my car and parked in a car park near the leisure centre. It's a LOT cheaper than the car park in the leisure centre grounds. As I locked up and headed towards the leisure centre I saw a young man park in the disabled space and get out and go the same way as me.

He went on the treadmill and ran for 30 minutes. I know that as I was doing the same.

So - before I judge him unfairly what disability which warrants a blue badge could this man have which would allow him to run for 30 minutes - after sprinting up the 2 flights of stairs to get there?

Was he a genuine recipient of disabled space parking or was he just avoiding paying the charge (which by the way is 5p for the first hour ).

OP posts:
Thread gallery
6
soulrider · 14/03/2018 10:29

Has anyone suggested that the OP or anyone else should be questioning people using blue badge spaces? I haven't seen it

So the man using the gym may have had

  • an invisible disability
  • be incorrectly using a blue badge
  • be incorrectly using a blue badge space without a blue badge

The last is probably the most common tbh

Shedmicehugh1 · 14/03/2018 10:32

soulrider Why would anyone challenge someone with a bb?

What would you be hoping to achieve?

Ringsender2 · 14/03/2018 10:32

May I ask how the BBs are assessed and administered? (This is in regard to the examples upthread about some children with no traffic awareness being awarded (rightly) the use of BB, and others (sadly) not being assessed as requiring one.)

Is it done by LA/Region/Nationally? How is there so much variation?

BreakfastAtSquiffanys · 14/03/2018 10:35

I would never challenge someone with a Blue Badge no matter how "well" they look.
I do and have challenged people with BB parking in BB spaces, usually with a helpful "you've forgotten to display your badge, don't want to get a ticket, do you?"

They are hard to get- My 93 year old FIL recently failed to get his renewed because his GP said that his hip replacement meant he didn't need one any more.

BeyondDeadlySiren · 14/03/2018 10:35

Nationally, everyone who gets high rate mobility for pip or dla is entitled to one

Locally, councils do their own assessments for those who don't get high rate mobility. Each council has its own idea of who needs a BB.

BreakfastAtSquiffanys · 14/03/2018 10:35

That should have said without BB

anxious2017 · 14/03/2018 10:39

You also have to pay for a blue badge- they're not free!

Nope. Depends on LA. My badges have always been free.

soulrider · 14/03/2018 10:40

soulrider Why would anyone challenge someone with a bb?

What would you be hoping to achieve?

I don't know, nobody is advocating it on this thread. My question wasn't a suggestion for the OP! It was a comment that those people stating that blue badge misuse happens aren't recommending that any member of the public go out and police it.

Shedmicehugh1 · 14/03/2018 10:41

Ring BB are issued by the local authorities. Certain disabilities (being blind for example) and criteria (being in receipt of higher rate mobility for example) mean you are automatically entitled to a BB.

Other disabilities, do not automatically entitle you to a BB and you are assessed on an individual basis.

whampiece · 14/03/2018 10:41

Is it done by LA/Region/Nationally? How is there so much variation?

A certain amount of points when assessing PIP will automatically allow a B.B.

Otherwise you can apply to your local council who will assess you. DH was rejected by the council - the OT who assessed him decided he must be fine because he didn't 'look' in pain.

We then applied for PIP and he was awarded enough points for a badge, although he only gets the standard rate mobility.

Bubblebug1 · 14/03/2018 10:44

I have a disability which changes day to day. One day I can run around the park and lift weight, the next I struggle to lift my son or walk to the local shops. Please do not judge so easily Smile

whampiece · 14/03/2018 10:44

We pay £20 for DH's. It's valid for 3 years though.

carryondoctor · 14/03/2018 10:47

Christ, who would break into a car to steal the blue badge of someone with a disability? That's one of the shittiest, most lowdown things I've ever heard

Shedmicehugh1 · 14/03/2018 10:49

Soulrider oh I see! Sorry my mistake Blush

alpineibex · 14/03/2018 10:51

A member of my family has a blue badge for missing a lung, as they become short-of-breath and wheezy more easily (they are elderly too), so can struggle to walk further distances on a bad day.

soulrider · 14/03/2018 10:52

Christ, who would break into a car to steal the blue badge of someone with a disability? That's one of the shittiest, most lowdown things I've ever heard

Sadly it's on the increase

badge thefts in England quadruple in four years [ttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-43071932

soulrider · 14/03/2018 10:52

Messed up the link

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-43071932

carryondoctor · 14/03/2018 10:54

Urgh that's depressing. Why are people so shit??

CuriousHedgehog · 14/03/2018 11:00

"The aim of the Blue Badge scheme is to help disabled people who have severe mobility problems to access goods, services and other facilities by allowing them to park close to their destination." - Gov.uk

So you might have a hidden disability that also causes severe mobility issues (but isn't immediately obvious), but someone who can run 30 mins on a treadmill seems unlikely to have severe mobility issues and be a blue badge holder. That said, there are conditions that fluctuate in severity so that could have been the case.

lildevil · 14/03/2018 11:07

PushMyButton - could you explain what law a person would be breaking if they looked at your disabled badge please? I wasn't aware of any law that stated only police and traffic wardens were the only ones legally allowed to do this when I worked in disabled badge department. Is this a new law that has come in recently? I just want to make sure I'm not giving out incorrect information. Thanks

Spikeyball · 14/03/2018 11:14

Councils vary in how they interpret the rules regarding blue badges with some sticking to it has to be a physical disability and others seeing it in the full sense of mobility.
My son has one automatically now ( which currently he will lose at 16 because the same category doesn't exist for adults) but he had one previously because of the combined effect of his difficulties for which there is no allowance of automatic entitlement.

PushMyButton · 14/03/2018 11:30

@whampiece wasn't it you telling someone else how to check the ages on people's badges? Sorry if I tagged the wrong person.

@anxious2017 my apologies, I thought that they had to charge an admin fee.

Sadly @carryondoctor it happens. Especially in London.

@lildevil picture attached. It's not that you're breaking the law, it's that only they have the legal right to check it

To ask what disability a person could have
Ollivander84 · 14/03/2018 11:33

Ringsender - a 120mph car crash impact left her in a coma, she fractured her cheekbones, jaw, eye sockets, pushed her nose flat into her face, (they reconstructed from a photo) bit off her tongue, broke her ribs, legs, ankles, pelvis, ankles, feet, punctured her liver, spleen, lungs and went into cardiac arrest twice. 39 operations, skin grafts and a lot of plastic surgery

lildevil · 14/03/2018 11:59

That states those people have the legal power to inspect. For example they see you getting out the vehicle they can ask to inspect the badge and if you don't you are breaking the law. If someone saw you park at the supermarket and run in and they told the supermarket manager who came to you and asked to inspect your badge then you can say no. This isn't saying that ONLY enforcement officers/police etc can look at a displayed badge. Anybody can do that. That is why it's displayed

BlankTimes · 14/03/2018 12:08

@lildevil thanks for the info about the birthdate/sex in the long number on the badge.