AIBU to think there should be different types of blue badge spaces?

[IHateBlueLights]

I'm very lucky where we live in that there are usually more than enough BB spaces for anyone who needs one in the town and supermarkets.

However, while visiting tourist attractions (National Trust etc) we have had some difficulty finding a space where we can get the wheelchair in and out of the car easily. All the BB spaces have hatching around them to enable wheelchairs to be unloaded and loaded. But many BB holders are not wheelchair or pushchair users, so don't need the extra space around the car.

If some BB spaces were the normal size but still close to entrances and exits there would be room for more overall.

AIBU to hope that spaces with the hatching for wheelchairs should only be used by those who actually need the space? And that there should be more "standard size" BB spaces for those who don't need the space?

The only alteration to the scheme I would like to see is a temporary badge for people with a short term need, eg post surgery recovery period

No, absolutely not.

If someone can't drive or can't walk far because of what is temporary post-op pain, then they need to think a bit more about how they can manage their shopping.

Order online is one option.

Use the drop-off facility is another, if someone can't drive, then a helper can drive the post-surgery person to the front of the supermarket, drop them off, either at a bench or at the seats inside. Go and park in a normal space, when they've finished, sit them on the nearest bench to the drop-off area then get the car and collect them there.

Different types of BB spaces - no, definitely not. My dd's had a BB since she was a teen, she can't get out of the car without opening the door fully. Although eligible, she doesn't use a wheelchair.

If there are BB users who don't need a BB space all the time like the OP, then by all means don't use one on the days you don't need it, but I'd doubt there are many who could.

I understand what you’re saying but I think YABU. People will police them and make other people bad. I used to her dirty looks and people asking me if I’m actually disabled because I used to look young. Sadly, I don’t get this anymore!! People will pick on other people.

@BlankTimes

Years ago when I broke my ankle the manager at Tesco insisted we park in a disabled bay when he saw us struggling. He said to refer anyone who had a problem with it to him. I was on crutches or in a borrowed wheelchair so certainly needed a bay by the entrance.

I don't know why anyone would object.

@IHateBlueLights

Parking in a disabled space when you're not disabled - This has been done to death, the afterlife, reincarnation and beyond on MN and the consensus is, either use the P+C spaces so you don't deprive anyone who is genuinely disabled of their right to use a BB space, or do as suggested in my previous post and use the drop-off area which is closer to the store than BBor P+C spaces.

By parking in a BB space when you are not disabled, and you were NOT disabled, you deprive a genuinely disabled person of a space and it's likely that they'd have had to go home as they have no other options, whereas the non-disabled but temporarily incapacitated person has.

I'm not derailing this thread with all that old and frequent argument, if you wish to, perhaps a new thread for that particular point would be better.

@BlankTimes surely all your suggestions - online shopping, drop off facility etc - could just as well be used by "permanently" disabled people though?

The point is whether someone's mobility is seriously impaired, whether permanently or for a short time, and how that can be mitigated.

By parking in a BB space when you are not disabled, and you were NOT disabled, you deprive a genuinely disabled person of a space and it's likely that they'd have had to go home as they have no other options, whereas the non-disabled but temporarily incapacitated person has.

I was temporarily disabled. In some ways more disabled than I am now I use a wheelchair a lot and have a BB. It was the manager of the store who said to use the disabled bay, so we did. His decision. Not yours.

I said in my very first post there are plenty of disabled bays in our local supermarkets. I have never not been able to find a space there or in the town. The only place I've ever had problems is tourism sites. Hence this post.

The only alteration to the scheme I would like to see is a temporary badge for people with a short term need, eg post surgery recovery period

No, I think the line between disability and temporary recovery is an important one. I live in S London where a Blue Badge is goldust to drug dealers, because it enables the to stop in residential bays all over the place for short periods. And there is a huge trade in mis-used and stolen badges and people using family member badges incorrectly. The issuing of temporary badges would just exacerbate this problem.

Of course shop owners and everyone should show consideration to anyone who is ill or incapacitated, as a courtesy.

But people need to understand that being a bit crook for a while and having a permanent disability are not the same thing. It is an important political point.