Parking in disabled spaces when disabled person sitting in car

[Mokel]

If the blue badge holder isn’t going to leave the car, the car shouldn’t be parked in a disabled bay.

The purpose behind disabled bays is for disabled people don’t have to walk far to entrances to shops, doctors etc. If not leaving the car, there’s no need to park up there.

If a non disabled person is going to leave the car leaving the disabled person in the car, they should be parking in a normal parking space.

In my local town centre (which we avoid), there are just 2 disabled bays at one end of the pedestrianised high street. There are some more in the shopping centre but they are a long walk away.

I'm not sure what the point is here.

.....Because some people abuse BB, nobody should benefit from spaces that make it possible for them to go into shops etc.

Abolishing BB spaces would only punish BB holders for the actions of the few who have misused them with minimal benefit for others who would then have more 'normal' spaces.

Yes let’s get rid of the accessible parking scheme, then us disabled types can all just stay at home.

OK, I accept that you apologised. I do know that it is unpleasant being challenged by ignorant twats regarding use of the badge.

My mother hasn't been challenged (wheelchair user due very limited mobility now) but I know a man who is a below the knee amputee and has been rudely challenged by busybodies about using his blue badge. He quite enjoys their reactions when he lifts his trousers and shows them his prosthetic leg. They scuttle off red faced! 🙄

I agree with you that he shouldn't have to though.

If you don’t have a blue badge what’s it got to do with you? Why penalise the majority for the actions of a few?

When my DH was ill we sometimes

• parked in a blue badge space
• I went to get the shopping
• he stayed in the car until he felt strong enough to get out, usually this happened, sometimes it didn't
• when he did manage to get out he was happy to do normal things like listen to the buskers or just get some fresh air, or even get to the shop if it turned out to be a very good day.

Are you suggesting that he should have been penalised for not being able to predict what he could manage?

Blue badge bashing again!

Try having a BB, a marked disabled bay allocated to you, your badge, your car and V5, with the local council, outside your house but the moment you leave, anyone can park in it. Because it's marked in white. So it's a 'courtesy' bay.

But, let's lay into a driver with a BB, sat in their car in an allocated bay. This was me earlier - I'd oiked myself round a supermarket thanks to leaning on a trolley. Got back to my car with my veggie lasagne and bag of crisps, then sat in the car for a while to catch my breath, get comfortable for my pain levels and took medication...took probably ten minutes after returning to my car.

I'm going to write to my Local Authority about my situation about the 'Impossible To Park At Pharmacy' problem that I have and see what they say.

Thank you to the posters who made me see that there is a potential grey area around the 'for whose benefit' rule and getting out of / returning to the car.

My late Dad had a run in with a disabled space busybody at Tesco a few years ago and it really upset him.
Mum had gone to get some shopping, Dad was sat in the car giving her a ten minute start then meeting her in the cafe. He’d have loved to shop with her at the time I’m sure but terminal lung cancer tends to leave you a bit worn out.

Nosey fucking cow told him he shouldn’t be there etc etc, despite the dozen empty spaces around him she chose that day to pick on a terminally ill old man. To his credit my dad told her to piss off and shut the window, but by god if I’d have been there she’d have gotten both barrels.

This. Absolutely none of your business. This policing of Blue Badge spaces needs to stop. I used to work with people with cancer and the amount of times they were harassed by people who thought they knew best was infuriating and upsetting. Mind your own bloody business.

Sigh. I do think people with restricted mobility should be able to leave their homes, go about their business having access to disabled parking spaces to make day to day life easier @phishy , @Whyisthatonthefloor and @WasThatACorner. That’s the whole point. But they are not used in that way are they? A significant proportion of spaces appear to be used by assorted people with no badge on display, someone else’s badge, the disabled person not getting in/out of vehicle. Fake badges are apparently rife. Meaning there’s insufficient spaces for those who actually need the extra large parking space to get in and out of vehicle, manoeuvre walking aids if needed, close enough to destination not to put strain on heart, lungs whatever by walking too far.

It should be socially unacceptable (the same way not wearing a seatbelt is) to park in disabled spot if you don’t need it on that occasion/don’t have a badge or disabled person with you. But that’s not the case - whole scheme needs overhauled and tightened up.

But it IS socially unacceptable to park in a disabled space without a BB and I DON’T see people abusing the system. Here it all seems to work well.

Yes. Yes, they are. I've more or less stopped going anywhere now, as there aren't enough disabled spaces anywhere I try and park, in my entire county and the surrounding ones.

I'm a wheelchair user, so I can't park in a non-disabled space, as I would not be able to lower my ramp, access my wheelchair etc.

I've had to go home so many times without food or medication, I've missed a wedding, missed meals out with friends, prebooked activities, healthcare appointments etc, because I haven't been able to park. It's very frustrating when you are looking forward to something, or when you need to eat or pick up life-saving meds, and you have to go home.

Many of the spaces here are abused by ableds. They don't give a shiny shit that some disabled people can't park anywhere else.

This! 'Handicap'. So rude!

Wish they would do away with the whole scheme. It’s abused to the point of making it worthless

What a ridiculous comment to make. So the majority of us who have one and use it properly should be penalised because of a small minority who abuse it

What would propose replacing it with because IT IS an essential service for those of us who need it

Or should disabled people just know their place & stay indoors so we don't take up any precious parking spaces

My mum lived with dementia for 10 years, and could not walk far.

So trip to doctor. Hope there was a nearby space or I faced dropping her off, telling her to stay where she was, parking and running back, hoping she had not moved. Sometimes she had wandered off, so I then had to find her. It was like leaving a toddler by the side of the road.

Then on to the chemist. Disabled space outside. I leave her in the car, run in with her prescription, reasonably confident she won’t be able to get out.

Probably against the rules, but you try manoeuvring a disabled person in and out of a car.

That’s an excellent point. I’m the badge holder at 48, my parents are 80 and 83 and I’ve left them sitting in the car before when I’ve gone into tesco. Like I said somewhere in this thread, my problem now, having had 2 hip replacements, is having enough space to sit sideways on the seat and pull myself round but I can walk fine now. I can just imagine someone not seeing me getting out of the car but seeing me walk towards the shop, looking fine, leaving my 80 and 83 year old parents in the car, and assuming one of them is the badge holder!

You’re correct in that it’s part of the rules for holding a blue badge. However of course a disabled person could be intending to leave the car and then can’t, and isn’t able to move the car themselves and the non disabled person has already left the car.
Also you’re never going to be able to police this rule as how do you know who is disabled or not? A lot of disabilities are invisible!

This is similar to what I had to do with my partner, who had a blue badge, but has now passed away in his 30’s. He was on oxygen, awaiting a transplant that never came, and would become very short of breath so didn’t like to be left for long at all. I would therefore park in the BB space in the car park so that I could get back to him quickly and also so that he was near the shop/people if he felt unable to breathe. A lady did tell me off and it always stayed with me as I was at such a low point in my life. I was stuck then on what I should be doing as if I used a normal space my partner would be too worried to go out so I wouldn’t be able to go anywhere to get things or take him out at all.

I have sat in the car while ds did the shopping & then once he has put the shopping in the boot he has helped me to go in the coffee shop for a drink. The disabled person could be resting, have had to come out of the shop because they are overwhelmed, exhausted, or just need a rest. Don't jump to conclusions.

Actually it is not. And I have a blue badge.

The badge belongs to the person not the car and can only be used when the disabled person leaves the car.

The same with parking on yellow lines.

Traffic wardens can ask to see the badge and they can confiscate it if it is being abused.

One thing that does need to change is the fines. Misuse of a BB is £1000 fine and loss of the badge. Parking in a disabled space without one is £50.

If they do away with the whole scheme, how do disabled people park close to their destination? And how do wheelchair users safely get out of their car?

If you asked most blue badge holders if they want to relinquish their badge, they’d say no. Because it does work most of the time.

And you didn’t say the system should be overhauled, you said ‘Wish they would do away with the whole scheme’.

I took my mum to her clinic last week, which is attached to a large NHS hospital. The clinic has just 2 disabled bays, both bays were being used, one car had no BB displayed. There were no free normal bays but an able bodied person could have parked in the main hospital car park. I asked the receptionist if she would ask on the tannoy in the busy reception for the culprit to move but she said she couldn’t help as they’re not allowed to ask people to move.

I have a friend with a brain tumour and a friend with back issues both had several operations and can't work. Both display their blue badges. They are male early 40s. They look like your typical "lad" and don't look ill.

They try only to park in these bays when they are having really bad days as they get so many looks.

I mean I suppose you can't blame people. But you can't always tell.

In the last few weeks there have been non disabled people moaning about free cars through the mobility scheme, 'large' PIP payments and now a blue badge bashing thread. What's wrong with people? None of these things are easy to get. The cars are usually adapted and there is a fixed choice only so they are needs based (automatic, higher up etc).
The maximum amount of disabled allowance is £724 per month and no one can live on that. Only 27% of disabled people work. It is not because they don't want to it's because of accessibility. It's also other people's attitudes. My own mobility might improve with the new drug I am trialling however my underlying condition is with me for life. I wouldn't wish it on anyone. If I suddenly turn into Usin Bolt after my next infusion someone else can have my space.
Blue badge holders might want to consider the new security locks for their badges. I believe the cards change hands for £1000!
Harrassing disabled people is a hate crime and is a criminal offence. It ain't a slap on the wrist.