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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

in thinking it's unfair that my neighbour swaps his disabled badge between his 5 cars and lets his children use it...?

45 replies

slowlylosingit · 19/12/2008 16:04

My neighbour and his 6 children share a disabled badge, swapping it between their various cars. They have their own disabled parking bay outside their house and take turns to park in the parking bay, depending on who has borrowed the badge that day. All of them are able bodied and seem fit and well, though I am very aware that even though they may seem physically well, one of them may have a genuine health problem which justifies the badge. It's the sharing of the badge which I find a bit unacceptable, is it fair that a badge is shared around just so a member of the family can go shopping and park in a disabled bay? I had thought that a disabled badge is assigned to a specific car and specific person deliberately to avoid people misusing the badge.

I'm wary about reporting the issue to the council as dont want to be a whining victor meldrew, but I just hate the thought of people taking advantage. Should I report it?

OP posts:

TheSweetLittleBunny · 19/12/2008 20:04

slowlylosingit I think people should make a stand, but for things that are far more important/dangerous - this is annoying, unfair, perhaps illegal, but TBH, not really that imporant in the great scheme of things. If they are doing something illegal, I am sure they will get caught eventually. If you start setting yourself up as the moral police - you will drive yourself mad, because people do these stupid little things all the time.

julienoshoes · 19/12/2008 20:08

Yes my husband has a disabled badge-and you mostly wouldn't be able to tell he has a problem by looking at him.
Some days he can walk more than 200 m and will potter round the town with me, but other days he can't even put his foot on the floor and has to rest up with his legs higher than his heart.
Even on a very good day, he is wiped out after about an hour or so in town. He'd need to rest up and sleep for hours afterwards. So the disabled badge is essential to conserve energy as much as possible.

I have often driven off with the badge in the car when he is not in it-cos we keep it in the car.
However I never use it to park when he is not there. I am passionate about this.
People like my dh need to have this facility and it is wrong IMO to abuse it.

abraid · 19/12/2008 20:17

Yes, but Jimjam, your son isn't an adult, driving a car unaccompanied (so presumably without mental incapacities that would disallow him from holding a driving licence) and then doing the 100m sprint!

jimjamshaslefttheyurt · 19/12/2008 20:19

NO, but if we had a disabled parking bay outside the house, I could quite easily be getting into the car without him then sprinting at the other end (where I wouldn't be using the badge).

scaredoflove · 19/12/2008 20:24

We have a drive and use of resident parking bays, only with a blue badge

If someone is visiting, I can put my car in the resident bay with BB or give BB to the visitor. They are visiting us as a family, including dd (who is on the BB) I checked with local authority and this was their advice

If the people are visiting BB holder then it is to his benefit and can use the BB outside the house

If they are using it elswhere without BB holder, then that is illegal and should be reported

misdee · 19/12/2008 20:28

dh ran a few metres the other day.

but today is on the sofa as a simple cold has wiped him out and he hasnt left the house today or yesterday. he is finding it hard enough just to mvoe about the house.

ChristmasPenguin · 19/12/2008 20:37

Is it actually affecting you in any way?

If not, just leave it be.

TotalChaos · 19/12/2008 20:43

unless you are 100% sure that they are using the badge without the holder being present, rather than just having it in the car I would give benefit of the doubt.

DesperateHousewifeToo · 19/12/2008 20:49

I often drive around with dh's bb in the car, which is not illegal.

I never display it to park anywhere that only a car with a bb can park unless dh is in the car and planning on getting out.

So it depends what your neighbours children do when they drive off with the badge in the car. Unless you follow them, you donm't know if they are actually abusing it, so best keep out of it.

As another poster says, if they are mis-using it, they will get caught eventually and the card may be taken away.

Original poster

slowlylosingit · 19/12/2008 21:24

christmaspenguin, it doesn't affect me no because I am lucky and neither I nor my family have any health problems which would warrant having a disabled parking badge. It does however, deprive other disabled people who live in my street from being able to park in the disabled bay. I think its unfair my neighbours fit and strapping youn son parks in the disabled bay when he's not disabled- I've seen the son in my local gym, and he works as a fireman so I think I can say with quite a bit of confidence he isnt disabled and shouldn't be making use of his dads badge when there are genuine disabled people who are far more entitled to park there.

OP posts:

jimjamshaslefttheyurt · 19/12/2008 21:30

The disabled bay generally goes with a house though. Although it's not enforceable by law, it is actually applied for and granted by a householder. I never park in householder disabled bays even with ds1's blue badge.

phoebebouffet · 19/12/2008 22:08

Well they are really clamping down on it up here in Manchester.People have had their faces splashed across the front of the Manchester Evening news for this exact reason. I'm amazed people go to such lengths just to avoid paying parking charges, it must cost em a few quid in petrol to drive from their own house round to your neighbours to pick up the badge.

jimjamshaslefttheyurt · 19/12/2008 22:11

Here you don't get free parking with a blue badge anyway. Only with a disabled tax disc.

Ronaldinhio · 19/12/2008 22:30

I don't really see hoow this is affecting you.
For some reason people always get a massive bee in their bonnet about bbs, almost equating them as some perk that should be wrestled off a disabled person for any perceived "misuse".

I think yabu in mho on this occasion

bonnycat · 20/12/2008 00:49

If his children are using his badge without him being in the car with them that is illegal.

edam · 20/12/2008 00:58

OP doesn't seem to know whether her neighbour's kids are doing anything wrong at all. Could well be that she's just not aware of the way disabled badges work.

ChristmasPenguin · 20/12/2008 13:24

slowlylosingit - unlikely, if the space is directly outside his house then it's most likely been put there for his use anyway.

Ronaldinhio · 20/12/2008 13:42

I thought that you could use the bb without the disabled person being in the car as long as you were going somewhere/doing something for them

notcitrus · 20/12/2008 13:42

bonnycat - unless the children are driving off to collect the neighbour from somewhere.

eg I drive MIL (badgeholder) into town, drop her off, come back a couple hours later and park in a blue badge space (despite me currently being able-bodied etc), and help her back to the car, which she wouldn't be able to get to if it were parked further away. Perfectly legal.

bonnycat · 21/12/2008 11:55

Fair enough.Not to run errands etc though unless picking up/dropping off the badge holder or the badge holder is in the car.

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