To wonder why there are always more disabled spaces than mother&baby spaces in car parks?

[Feierabend]

In places like Waitrose, John Lewis, etc. Surely there are more mothers with little children out there than disabled people?

Disabled people who are entitled to Disability Living Allowance (Mobility Component) - ie mobility allowance - can sign that over to Motability to use for a hire purchase agreement or a lease car. But they won't get a fancy big top-of-the-range car for that, just quite a basic model without the adaptations they may need. They can top it up with an upfront payment if they want something fancier, or need something larger.

The reason why a disabled person is unlikely to drive a complete wreck might be obvious if you think about it - there is no point having a car which is unreliable and will leave you stranded in the middle of nowhere, if you have a disability and won't be able to walk to the nearest phone box. A person with a disability is also much less likely to be able to push start a dodgy car, or or be able to do their own car maintenance.

So, people with disabilities who can't afford a car which meets their needs are more likely to use their mobility allowance to help them manage in other ways - like bus fares, taxi fares, mobility scooters, decent wheelchairs etc.

in fact I must spread the news.
Don't spend money on therapy. Buy a new car - the cure for every type of disability...

When my eldest[18] was born we didn't have these spaces in fact it wasn't until youngest{14] was 3 we had them but I was told to apply for the under 5 permit after my son was 5 by tesco's because of his disabilities and the fact that he doesn't have a blue badge.

Sidge, I think I actually love you! Maybe not, but love your post. Good points well made!

lucysullivan's point might be better applied to the fact that many people are driving with fake blue badges in our area, the police recently had a crackdown and loads of people had them confiscated/were fined/were arrested. There is a huge problem with forgeries.

So from that perspective, in our area at least, while I agree that it is impossible to tell by looking whether someone is disabled, it is also impossible to tell whether they are using a forged or stolen badge.

That is irrelevant to the OP but interesting generally I think. Criminals will always find a way to make a few bob/get round rules that everyone else has to follow.

I think the world has gone mad

1. P+C spaces are the divine right of every parent.
2. You must look REALLY disabled to get a blue badge.
3. Disabled people can only drive crap cars.

Oh yes it's yet another MN Parent and Child Space thread gone mad

Ffs i dont think the OP is discriminating against disabled people at all, i think it is a good argument for certain places that have to many disabled spaces that are always half empty or being abused. I could get a blue badge for my ds but choose not to, and i park far away from the doors, just to keep the car from being damaged, we do manage but others dont, and why do parents feel the need to use the p and t places when they have teens.

Whoops i meant p and c

The point about forgeries is entirely seperate from the type of car though. A person with a false/stolen/badge cannot be spotted bythe type of car they drive.

It is true that disability places a huge financial burden upon families but lucy went further , questioning how a person with disabiliteis could possibly have an expensive sportscar.
Disability is not restricted to the poor. And being rich does not preclude you from dealing with its consequences.

ahhhh....feeling quite nostalgic..

OP - dont be silly.

My husband has a very expensive car. We have a blue badge for our disabled child. How dare we!!

Sometimes we even park in disabled spaces.

VJG13 I'm ashamed of you

why not get the bus if manoeuvring in a car park is oh so difficult with young children?

I do wonder about the number of badges being used fraudulently though, and I think that it grates on people, and then you get comments like some of the ones above.

I know quite a few people with blue badges in teh family, and whoever is going out takes the blue badge, whether they are with the disabled person or not.

Then there are all the forgeries.

I have been guilty of it once myself, when a woman parked up as I was walking down the road (fancy sports car but that's neither here nor there), leapt out in really really impossibly high heels and strode swiftly off down the road. I couldn't help but wonder TBH, as it had been in the papers that week about the forgeries.

If there were a more robust system, I think there would be less of this "judging" going on.

I suppose it is one of these things where the selfish actions of a few people tarnish it for everyone else.

I've just realised that I am totally rambling on about something miles off topic, lucy set me off.

Riddle me this then . I have just got back from our local Sainsburys, which is being turned into a massive Sainsburys. Opposite the entrance are 2 rows of blue badge and two rows of P&T.

The entrance is now at the other end of the building temporarily. The P&T spaces are still full, despite being at the wrong end now. The blue badge spaces were completely empty. Therefore, blue badge need proximity to entrance, P&T need width. Which confirms that argument that blue badge should be near the doors, there should also be lots of P&T but further away. Case closed.

"Oh FGS, I wish these parent child spots were banned. It's ridiculous. "

Why? Most people I see use the spaces responsibly. There is always the odd arsehole but people mostly are decent and stick to the rules. But you want them banned why exactly? Because this argument on an internet forum has given you the hump? Nice.

To be fair Riven, there are always loads of empty blue badge spaces in our local supermarkets as well. I don't think I've ever seen them all full, but hey, I wouldn't park in one even if the rest of the car park was full, they're not my business. Sounds like your local shops need to up their provision.

I have only read the OP, so apologies if it's all been said before (and I suspect it has).

YABVVVVU. Disabled people NEED the spaces. They are merely a courtesy and a bonus for parents, rather than a necessity.

I've often had to round and round the carpark trying to find a disabled space as they are frequently full. Probably full of mums with melting babies of course.

By law there has to be a specific percentage of disabled spaces in a car park. Always far too many in my opinion

There was on artical about disabled bays a few weeks ago saying carparks have to allicate 6% of the spaces to disabled people.

I think people should just mind there own in carparks regarding the disabled. The only gripe i have is when i see (reguarly) a car parked on the street in a dangerous/inconvienient place and they always have a blue badge. But that's another thread.