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?

You are unreasonable to use disabled spaces. I have been tempted to use them when I've been out with my disabled Dm before she was awarded a blue badge. But I didn't because the rules are quite clear.

Parent and child spaces are a lovely thoughtful provision by supermarkets, but weren't available when I had toddlers. It could be slightly inconvenient but we managed, and nobody felt that they were entitled to use disabled spaces.

I genuinely don’t understand the need to remove the car seat from the car. They’re heavy and cumbersome and not great for babies to be lying in. Supermarkets provide baby seats on trolleys or you can pop them in a sling. Then you don’t need a bigger parking space than usual and there’s no need to have these sorts of discussions.

Glad it was ok in the end

All they'd need to do is swap a couple of disabled with a couple of P&C - that way there's the same number of disabled spaces but there's a couple of P&C outside the barrier.

so your not wanting more p&c bays op........really. maybe you should read your own thread and your posts.

Talk to the store manager about them unblkcli g the car park earlier.

*unblocking

Do not trust the shop staff on parking matters. Usually the car park enforcement is outsourced and they'll have no qualms charging you £££s for parking in the blue bay or in two regular spaces - it's how the car park "management" company make their money. A he said she said verbal comment from store staff is unlikely to be any defence.

Shop somewhere else or somewhen else.

Earlier this year I started driving again after an injury. I was still using crutches to walk and needed to be able to fully open my car door to get in and out. I had no right to use any disabled or parent+child spaces, so I just had to be choosy about where I went and make sure I'd park somewhere nobody could (lawfully) park next to my driver's door.

@KennDodd yes I fear you would have got the same angry rant from the posters here. I have every sympathy with you but some people are very unforgiving. Act first, ask questions later

Three under 5 here. You just get on with it. You certainly don't park in a disabled spot.

Or wish you could, should I say. You just park in a normal spot....just get on with it, far worse things in life to worry about.

Did you really expect anyone to say YANBU? Of course you are. I do understand your frustration, I have three young children and parking can be a complete nightmare but if the P&C are taken I try and find a space at the back to reduce chances of someone parking next to me and restricting the space.

I have 2 dc in wheelchairs who aren't entitled to blue badges. We manage, with difficulty, to not park in spaces we are not entitled to use, mostly by not getting out very much

What?! That's awful - why aren't they entitled? My mum's got a blue badge and she can walk!

You shouldn't have to not go out. Have you appealed?

All the people asking why you couldn't go later - why should she have had to drive all the way home to go back out again?! We don't all have the luxury of unlimited time or petrol money.

.. and people use car seats because getting the car seat out and onto the pram frame to nip into the shops for the whole of 5 minutes (or even 30) is a lot easier and a lot less traumatic than unclipping, carrying to trolly, putting in a sling or putting in a trolley seat (which are grim and uncomfortable anyway) - to then just have to get them out and clip them back in again!

She wasn't going to a zoo for the day, she was nipping to the shop on the way back from an errand, being in the car seat is fine.

Yes, you'd be u reasonable to park in a BB space, but you are not unreasonable for thinking the current system unfair.

On here, people get very upset at the suggestion of less BB spaces, regardless of the situation. If a car park was 90% BB spaces, most of which were rarely used, you'd still get slated for the idea of reducing them.

There should always be enough BB spaces, and a decent enough surplus to deal with unexpected extra people, but it doesn't need to be out of all proportion with demand. If it really is the case that very few are used (say 1-3 out of the 10), and even at busy times (before 8am), never more than half are taken, then I can't see why some shouldn't be swapped with the other side of the barrier, for P&C. If they really are never used, there's no loss.

As an aside....as a bb holder , If I arrive at supermarket, and find all bb spaces full....I park in P&C space instead!

Ds has used a buggy or wheelchair all of his life. He didn't get a bb till he was 10. If we managed in an ordinary space I think you can OP

Get online delivery if parking correctly is such a chore to you.

Saves hours of my life, and I don't even have kids.

See, this is what I don’t get. If it’s before 8am, there are 10 spaces and the OP knows the likelihood of all 10 being needed while she’s in the shop is slim, why do they need to be kept empty?

Because this is where it starts for one. 'I'm only going to be a couple if minutes' or the fav one I've heard 'I'm just using the cash machine'.

Only a total numpty would even think to take a space reserved for a disabled person.

##my mid-sized estate (needed for caravan towing and rural living with three Labradors##

People like you make me so mad.

Blue badge holders wish they had your life
Diddums that you have to walk a little further.....

If everyone parked in the disabled spaces because they’re more convenient, then there’s no point in having disabled spaces as disabled users won’t be able to use them!

Who cares if you have children or loads of shopping or not - that’s a lifestyle choice, you’re not disabled.

I want to avoid anyone jumping down my throat for equating pregnancy with disability

No, you’re not equating pregnancy and disability, you’re equating sitting in first class with parking in a disabled place which is insane

See, this is what I don’t get

You really don't understand that disabled spaces are for disabled people? Why? Why is that very, very simple concept so difficult for you to understand?

If you find my quote childish, that says a lot about you as a person. It really does.

If you understood what it was like to be in a wheelchair facing some of the difficulties I do on an hourly basis, perhaps you'd understand. But then you don't understand the simple concept above so I doubt it.

By the way? You're an ableist.

@Stopyourhavering64 as you should! Your need is greater.
Not disabled? Park further away (outside the car park if needed) and walk. Many moons ago there were no such things as P and C spaces.