WIBU to park in a disabled space?

[FairfaxAikman]

Ordinarily I wouldn't dream of it.

Our local supermarket closes off half the car park with barriers overnight to deter boy racers. It doesn't reopen until after 8am. ALL of the parent and child spaces are in the closed off side.

DS is still small enough to be in his car seat. In the past if I've arrived before 8am I've parked in a normal space but every time I've ended up with someone next to me, making it hard to get DS back in.

There is a row of 10 disabled spaces, all empty. WIBU to park in the furthest one from the shop?

I have 4 kids, one is only 10 months old and I don’t feel I have to use parent and child spaces... infact most of the time I park further away where there’s more spaces.
I don’t feel like I’m more entitled than anyone else. Just because we have children does not make us more important than anyone else doing their shopping.
Blue badge holders have it because they NEED them and because they need to park closer. So of course anyone wanting to use them without a blue badge is being unreasonable

as far as i am concerned they should massively increase the number of blue badge spaces and make it so anyone who gets mobility element of dla or pip at any level automatically is eligible.

My council do that automatically but there are so many people with debilitating chronic illnesses who are refused for PIP.

My comment above was based on groups I’m in for my various conditions, where I frequently see people who are terribly restricted by health problems saying they’ve had to park in a disabled space because they need to pick up medicine / buy food and can barely stand, have to use a scooter around the supermarket etc, but they don’t have a blue badge. My friend with CP I mentioned earlier really struggles - walking is a huge effort for him and very painful. Any system where he doesn’t get a badge isn’t fit for purpose - he used to have a lifetime DLA award!

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3361513-To-think-some-busy-car-parks-have-an-excessive-amount-of-disabled-spaces

this thread reminded me of this older one.

Dorset and Mia. You're banging on about RTFT when someone was repeatedly saying that disabled spaces need to be reduced.

Those comments have now been removed for being ableist. Clearly you haven't seen them because you came late to the thread and aren't there 🙄

Do you know the layout of the carpark Dorset? I don't however based on the ones near me the BB bays are closer to the shop so swapping with P&C bays means the BB bays would be further away...which sorts of defeats the point since many people use them due to limited mobility.

Also swapping means taking away 2 disabled spaces before 8am

@SinkGirl Agreed. I was thinking of that issue myself. Many councils don't bother considering whether someone needs a blue badge or not, they just go on DLA/PIP = badge. And we should all know what the government is being like with PIP.

With that in mind, I'm not sure we can be so clear cut and say that people without Blue Badges should never park in disabled bays any more. People who need BBs aren't getting them, because more ablist than anyone in this thread are the current government.

Many councils don't bother considering whether someone needs a blue badge or not, they just go on DLA/PIP = badge

Are you sure about that in all circumstances? I can only go by my own Council of course. I was also told the same, but my relative's BB was up for renewal when they were waiting for PIP Tribunal, so they didn't have the PIP mobility component at that time.

The fact they'd had a BB for years previously wasn't taken into account but they had to go to the Council Offices, have an observation, not a physical, and interview with a physio then wait a couple of weeks to hear. As it happened, the Council physio scored them to be much less able than the PIP assessor had and they were awarded the Blue Badge.

If your Council does do independent assessments, I'd really suggest trying that route.

Professor. Well no obviously you can’t be expected to comment on posts that are deleted in between coming on the thread! And if you RTFT you’d see I’ve been on here since the start! However, I work so not sat on this thread all day.

Bianca. Yes, the OP included a diagram explaining the car park layout earlier on in the thread which shows the BB and P&C spaces are right next to each other...

Hiho. Yup, that’s correct. However the spaces clearly aren’t widely used before 8am as the OPs been told to use them. Also the supermarket has far more than the min legal number of BB spaces as half of them are barricaded off before 8am.

I’m not commenting on BB eligibility, correct no of BB spaces in general etc. Funnily enough I’m simply commenting on the OPs original post as that’s what this thread was
about.

There would still be 8 parking spaces available before 8am and 20 from 8am onwards. Not unreasonable in my view.

When I’ve been to the supermarket late at night and all the disabled spaces are free I’ve used them. I can categorically state that I’ve inconvenienced zero disabled people.

P&C spaces are a courtesy that supermarkets offer in an attempt to appeal to families with small children, so you can’t really get to possessive over them.

Where is the diagram?? I honestly can't see it and I've scrolled right the way through...

Bianca. Page 7, posted at 13.10. In fact in that particular post the OP had suggested adding two P&C spaces to the END of the BB parking as a further suggestion. But still posters claiming this was about taking spaces away from BB holders

Genuinely can't see the diagram

Assumption. I meant to type 'assumption'. I guess autocorrect read my mood.

Eh? Why shouldn't I be up and out before 8am?

For the genuine percentage of blue badge holders, I'd say the vast majority won't be up & about so early due to their conditions & need for medications etc

How exactly do you know this?

I think you were right the first time, CardsForKittens.

For the genuine percentage of blue badge holders, I'd say the vast majority won't be up & about so early due to their conditions & need for medications etc

Rubbish.

When I’ve been to the supermarket late at night and all the disabled spaces are free I’ve used them. I can categorically state that I’ve inconvenienced zero disabled people.

Why would you do that? Did you get a kick out of it? Surely late night there are loads of free spaces.

OP I can't believe the responses you're getting.

I know AIBU is normally sparky but lately it seems to have turned into 'let's abuse the OP for the hell of it'. I mean why would you actually read what the OP said before calling her a CF and telling her what an seagulls human she is!?! 

Rant away - you are right to think the store ABU with their suggestion.

*an atrocious human

@ purple daisies, just my experience of people with mobility issues who drive.

@ professor, you can get up & go out at any time you wish. I didn't state otherwise.

Opinions differ, that's sadly a green light for a few on here who think it entitles them to be rude &/or insulting for the sake of it. Get some respect.