To think this is utterly unreasonable... pic included

[ScottishJo31]

Just seen this on my local town Facebook group.....I can’t believe that someone would confront someone with a blue badge for parking in a p&c space.....especially as it’s massive carpark and there were loads of spaces...! [pic edited out by MNHQ - OP do feel free to repost having obscured the number plate below]

If low-rate DLA they are entitled to a BB. If they are on PIP, it's 8 point for the "Moving Around" activities. Might stop the ignorant fuckers I doubt it.

That depends where you live. Here only high rate mobility DLA is an automatic entitlement. Low rate requires an assessment and I’ve only known two people get it (both of whom had dla upgraded st appeal)

I know Mumsnet hates p&c spaces

It's not that P&C spaces are hated at all, it's the attitude that ONLY P&C should use them.

There are many people who need the extra space but do not qualify for a BB. I use these spaces as I need the door open fully to get in and out of the car, thanks to RA. I don't want to damage your car with my door and I need to know that when I return to my car, I can get back in it. Being told I shouldn't use the P&C to make life easier for the able-bodied is infuriating and what makes things worse is that those with this attitude are incapable of telling me where I should park.

Criticising a bona fide BB holder for using the space is downright abysmal though.

Forgot to add, I'm 2 points off a BB.

@lyralalala

That depends where you live.

It "shouldn't", although of course, that doesn't mean it doesn't. The official gov.uk document states :

1. People who automatically qualify for a badge:

A person is automatically eligible for a badge if they are over two years old and meet at least one of the following criteria: a receives the Higher Rate of the Mobility Component of the Disability Living Allowance; b receives a Personal Independence Payment for being unable to walk further than 50 metres (a score of 8 points or more under the ‘moving around’ activity of the mobility component); c is registered blind (severely sight impaired); d receives a War Pensioner’s Mobility Supplement; or e has received a lump sum benefit within tariff levels 1-8 of the Armed Forces and Reserve Forces (Compensation) Scheme and has been certified as having a permanent and substantial disability which causes inability to walk or very considerable difficulty in walking.

  Explanation

If you are applying for a badge under any of these criteria you will automatically qualify, provided you have the right documentation to support your application and can provide proof of your identity and proof that you are a resident in the local authority in which you are applying.

(assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/197719/can-i-get-a-blue-badge.pdf)

Ah, I see they've updated the DLA criteria. My apologies.

You can still apply, Gibbon, you will "just" have to provide a compelling reason why you should be granted one. It's doable, but not a cakewalk. Depends on the LA.

I know you can ‘survive’ without a P&C space, I know people did before they existed but I’m currently heavily pregnant and also have a baby, it’s a lot more difficult and stressful to get myself and my child out of the car safely (the same will apply when I have a newborn with me too).

I find the people misusing the spaces are those without kids who just don’t care that they are making someone else’s life more difficult and less safe for their kids. As I said earlier BB holders have every right to park there and should never be accosted but I find it is not these people who misuse the spaces with their selfishness/laziness.

Gibbon. Apply for a BB,I have one but didn't get PIP ( bastards)

If the supermarkets found that people with yellow cars spent the most money in their shops, they would have spaces for yellow cars only.

Anyone who thinks that P&C spaces are there for any reason other than because they see people with children spending the most in the shops is deluding them self.

@popehilarious
Your posts were very well balanced and I am not upset at all thanks. I hope I didn’t offend you either. And thanks to you and @SimplySteveRedux for saying you like my posts. I do wish I were more eloquent like some posters. 😁

I havee no issues with blue badge holders parking spaces. However given the apparent obesity problem among children I think supermarkets should put their parent and child spaces as far from the entrance as possible so at least they get some exercise on the way to.pick up their snacks.

In NZ we're still trying to educate people that it's not okay to park in a disabled space.

Went out with DD, and her BF as their treat yesterday. It's the first time I can ever remember someone asking to see the photo on my Blue Badge to verify I wasn't simply abusing someone else's. Was handled supremely well, sensitively and in a very pleasant manner. It's a shame I didn't get the name of the woman doing the checks as she'd have a glowing commendation being emailed right now. Will send an email anyway, they probably know who she is.

Praguemum
Same in U.K. Although I don’t see any campaigns.....

@Br1256
Your comment sounds very pompous. You have no issue. I should bloody hope not! As for your comment on p&c spaces, what about toddlers or children with additional needs??

The only time I have ever had my BB checked was in a very small car park in Norfolk- by a real jobsworthy man who was so suspicious it made me really angry.

In the news btw, not parking but travel related.

For the last six weeks people have been locked out of Hull Paragon train station’s fully accessible entrance. Disabled people have been left waiting for busy guards to unlock the gate - and one man was even refused access because he “did not look disabled”.

Who the fuck challenges a blue badge holder?

I have to admit, I had to the other day, but only as she had parked on the corner of a busy road in a dangerous position and also right over the dropped kerb crossing area meaning mobility scooters, pushchairs and wheelchairs couldn’t cross the road safely. She obviously needed her blue badge but was walking quite comfortably that day and could have edged forward a couple of meters. So BB holders can sometimes not play by the rules and believe they are actually able to park anywhere. I didn’t approach her aggressively though, I was polite and just trying to hi light an issue.

But as far as BB holders parking in P&C if more suitable to their needs or other spaces are full...absolutely they should. P&C spaces are a bonus not a necessity.

Disabled or not, they should be fined for parking in parent and child spaces.

Disabled trumps parent and child. I have DS who’s 3 and I enjoy the convenience of P&C but where there are none it’s just tough! Having said that I have come across someone with a BB who parked across 2 P&C bays at a right angle if that makes sense. There were disabled spaces closer to the store and plenty of them. So people with BB can be nobs too, being disabled doesn’t automatically make you an angel and always right. Case in point, my Aunt who has a BB but rarely leaves the house so “rents” it to her friends who are not disabled in any way. I don’t understand how she’s not been rumbled 🤷‍♀️

Disabled or not, they should be fined for parking in parent and child spaces

Why?

@Beaverdam
Disabled or not, they should be fined for parking in parent and child spaces.

LOL!! On what planet would that happen?

@CreakyBeaky
Aunt who has a BB but rarely leaves the house so “rents” it to her friends who are not disabled in any way. I don’t understand how she’s not been rumbled

Report her to your local Council BB dept. Google "report misuse of a blue badge" to find the number for your local one.

I agree that anyone who suspects misuse of a BB should report it. It is NEVER appropriate to confront a BB user on the grounds that s/he 'doesn't look disabled', there are so many disabilities that aren't apparent.

I am sorry that those with small children and pregnancies find it difficult to get around but I am only sorry up to a point. They have this difficulty and inconvenience for a few short years only; my wheelchair-bound DS with severe learning difficulties will have it for the rest of his life and so will we.

My DS was a baby and toddler once so I get that it is hard for parents of small children to get around; the thing is that as DS has grown it has got harder. So there it is: the lives of these entitled parents will get easier and easier as ours get more and more difficult. So I get very angry at the suggestion that their convenience trumps DS's and our need.