To think if you’re a slightly more mobile BB holder you should park in the further accessible bay?

[FlooredByKindness]

My late mom had a Blue Badge as she used a walking stick so I do have experience of accessibility issues

Quite frequently I see people getting out of a car with a badge displayed and then heading easily into stores etc after parking in the closest bay.

if you have a reasonable levels of ability within the realms of BB wouldn’t it be more considerate to park in one of the furthest bb spaces in case the next bb holder who turns up is less able?

seems reasonable to me

& I think that people that don't have these issues should THINK before they type utter crap.

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Oh I know, it must be at least a hour!!

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We need a disabled space to fully open the door and get the seatbelt on. She has no concept of safety and has multiple seizures a day but can walk … you can’t categorise people because when she’s just come out of seizure she can barely walk

I’m a BB holder, my pain, fatigue and function is variable. If I’m having an ok day and there are non-BB spaces close to where I need to be I use those to leave the BB spaces for those who are struggling. If I’m having a bad day I park in the BB spaces.

Also, BB spaces are wider, to allow you to open your doors properly and not have to shimmy out. I have to swing both legs out and stand up onto both my feet, I can’t step out sideways on to one foot like a fully able bodied person. There’s more than one reason to have a BB.

Ooooh a disability- off is a great idea.

They could build gladiator style arenas in every carpark.

You can’t have an hierarchy of needs. If you have a blue badge you are entitled to park there.

DS is a part time wheelchair user. If he is using his wheelchair it is actually much easier to park further than away than if he is on foot because things can turn quickly and getting out of the car looking “normal” can soon turn if he becomes unwell or overstimulated. When he is in his chair I can push him safely back.

yet people judge when he walks away from the car!

Its a good point though, as long as long as no one is policing it. I used to have a disabled badge for a condition that is now under control. During bad periods I couldn't walk far, but in better bits I could manage much further. It wouldn't have taken much to adjust my parking.

Please just use your badge, comments like the Ops are ridiculous and they know it, what people on the Internet think doesn't actually matter, what an idiot tutting in a car park doesn't matter. I think they think "we" should be crawling into the shops to prove our disability is worthy,

It doesn't have to be a hierarch. It could just be. If you know that you're up to it, maybe you could be considerate and part further away. Like an unwritten rule.

Doesn’t need to be right outside the door for me but I should imagine others would say different, but maybe dark blue who don’t need the wide space out need closer to the door ?

If you're exiting the car with two walking sticks and often a carer helping you to get out and get steady on your feet, I imagine you'd need the same amount of room as a wheelchair user.

ETA: Ditto rollator users.

How does that work when many disabilities are so variable and can change so quickly though? A good day for many can turn to an awful day with no notice.

How is it a good point?posters have described why they or their child needs a blue badge which has sometimes little to do with physical mobility.

OP, I'm going to respond to this under the assumption that you're trying to be compassionate towards disabled people because I think you probably are.

You're displaying ableist thinking right now. You looked at a stranger and thought you could evaluate their disability and needs based on watching them walk into a shop. You've also narrowed BB needs and the "value" of each BB space down to a single variable - the distance to the store vs how well a person can physically walk. Both assumptions are wildly incorrect.

I have MS, and two of my most difficult symptoms are severe vertigo and syncope episodes - these can come on suddenly but tend to be exacerbated by fatigue and heat. I'm in my 30s, fit, and fully capable of running when not having symptoms. But I also use an assistance dog (meaning I need to be able to open my car door wider and let him jump in and out), sometimes trip over curbs or cracks in pavement, and may feel great walking into a store then barely be standing by the time I've collected my items. Other disabled people are children who can easily sprint across a car park but can't be relied on to stay by their adults or hold onto a hand. Others are extremely cold sensitive and struggle with the fine motor skills to put layers on and off, others have joint issues that make getting in and out of the car in narrow spaces completely impossible, or can't climb steps, or deal with chronic fatigue and pain that means a longer walk will make it harder to cook dinner or do laundry that night. You can't know and it absolutely isn't your job to try to judge or monitor.

Or how about we just accept that if a person has been issued a blue badge there is a very good reason for it🤔

Does this logic apply to everyone? Should I, a fit and strong person park at the back of the car park in case the closer spaces are needed by someone weaker or older than me?

This is why I put off applying for mine for years even though I qualified for it. I look “fine”, I walk slow, but you can’t see if someone is in pain, or struggling with fatigue, so I didn’t want a BB because I knew I’d be judged.

No, they can park anywhere. Who are you to try and assess how disabled or not disabled people are? If they are allowed to park there it's nothing to do with you. Deal with it

There have been time's I have used my sister's BB (has severe ld, epilepsy etc) to go and collect her from somewhere where she has had a seizure and is post dictal, so I'll come park up as close as possible in a blue badge space and get out of the car looking fine but am collecting someone who is very much not. Lot's of disabilities are also variable. I have multiple chronic conditions, I look "fine" broadly but my health is very changeable (I don't actually have a bb at present as manage without) but lots of people are similar and you just shouldn't judge.

This made me chuckle - in the one carpark I can drive to there is no choice of BB space. All the BB spaces are nearly always full (if so, I drive home) and the sprinters ( compared to me) don't seem to give a hoot that there may be a wonkywalker hoping to park. Maybe I should call ahead and reserve a good space ?

On a serious note I do get the frustration as there are so many BB holders and so few spaces.

All the BB spaces are nearly always full (if so, I drive home) and the sprinters ( compared to me) don't seem to give a hoot that there may be a wonkywalker hoping to park.

How would they know though and what could they do about it if they did?

Sad Face Olympics. Who is most worthy? 🧐

No, for all the reasons already mentioned. My issue is people using disabled spaces when they don't have a BB. My elderly, disabled mother has a BB and can never park at her local supermarket in the disabled bays as mainly occupied by people not displaying a BB. For this reason she has decided not to renew her badge.

What amazes me is that OP has spent some time pondering about the hierarchy of disabled folk believing herself to have come up with a novel idea of separating the ‘totally disabled’ and the ‘lightly disabled’ - are you really so naive or just a goady fool ?

I have no beef with blue badge holders using those spaces, near or far to building entrances, whatever, nor with people with children using parent and child spaces. But I wish to goodness someone would police them. My local doctor’s surgery has 6 blue badge spaces. On Tuesday when we visited, 5 of the 6 cars parked in those spaces had no blue badge displayed, and the drivers seemed very able bodied. The parent spaces were also full, and the cars parked there had not one child car seat between them, I.e, they were not transporting children. So where are people who really need those spaces supposed to park?

I look mobile, as I don't have any obvious issues with my gait. But every step I take makes me weaker. Makes me less able to swallow safely. Makes me more at risk of a fall.

You can't tell from looking at someone.

I look the same on a bad day as I do on a good day (well, my family/neurologist can tell the difference)