I stood proud and shouted the odds about parents & toddler parking

[twiglett]

message withdrawn

Not me guvnor! I'm one of those people who has to walk with my shopping. Dh has a car but I find it easier to do during the day.

Not me. I wouldnt shout at an elderly person for parking in such a space. I would only shout at the single, healthy looking person, normally middle aged women in some big 4 by 4 vehicle. Its a bug bear of mine people parking in spaces but sometimes people have good reasons, others times they are just bone idle lazy good for nothings.

nope personally I think elderly people have as much right if not more to those spaces than healthy young mum's without special circumstances (special circumastance would be things like toddler twins etc).

I parked in a M and T space recently when all the disabled spaces were full. Would be pretty pissed off if someone had a go at me tbh.

good for you twiglett. I don't mind if someone uses it if they are disabled or old and doddery (both not just old) but otherwise keep out!! I need them not because they're near the store but for the width. You need to open the car doors wide to get kids out.

Perhaps what stores should do is provide P&T spaces but not near the store. After all, most parents need the space, not necessarily a short walk to the store. And other wouldn't take the space because that would mean they would actually have to walk a little way.

Our local asda has th P & T spaces away from the store and the disabled spaces near the store. As long as they are wide and near a footpath and trolley park they suit me fine.

Herer here freckle, I would use them for the extra car space. I really feel I shouldn't use them anymore, youngest is 2.10 but he now insists on climbing in and out himself amd therefore to stop car doors scrapping other car doors still use them.

Actually challenged somebody in Tesco Dundee and, the man was really rude and aggressive, I took down his details and by the time I had got into the store, somebody had reported him for verbally abusing me!!!!

They called him on the tannoy, and he responded, and then got abusive with the staff member. Security were called, and he was told to either move his car or he would be escorted out of the premises.

Actually, coz I had gone back to customer services to ask what had happened, felt really unnnerved (almost scared) that he was prepared to front up to Security.

But at the time was so P**D of that he had blantantly niked my spot (I was signalling 4 it and he just turned into it) that my outrage got the better of me.

By the way have also challenged 2 people on parking in Disabled bays, whilst out shopping with my dad who has MD and is in a wheelchair, and wouldn't think twice about doing it again.

Soory in my wee rant forgot to say I wouldn't care where the P&T spaces were situated in a store as long as they had bigger spaces, To allow my chidren to indepently climb out. But also understand that mums with very small children would like easy access

message withdrawn

I saw a great sign next to the disabled parking spaces in a French supermarket last month:

"If you want to take my parking space, take my disability as well."

It might help if stores didn't put their cash points right where they put disabled , and p&t bays.

What a joy it must be to actually have P&T spaces! I live in Austria and they haven't been invented yet (except in Ikea). On the trolley front you get a bog standard todler seat, no baby seat, certainly no safety straps and definitly no twin trolleys. I get the steangest looks here when I use "reins" on my ds to attempt to stop him climbing out of a trolley seat. Oh yes, to add to prevous threads, I am a three wheeler owner and use if off road every day for dog (and toddler) walking).

good point, our local Co-op has a cash point right next to the Disabled and P/T spaces- people are always "just nipping in" for a couple of minutes to get cash. I've sat there indicating, and looking furious, waiting for a young bloke to shift his arse out of a P/T space. He did have the grace to look rather guilty.

I have a confession - I did a bad thing today. Local Safeway carpark didn't have any P&T spaces left but all the disabled bays (about 10 of them) were empty. I used one because I am nearly 39 weeks pregnant, had my 3 year old in tow and just couldn't manouvre the car into a smaller bay (they are really tight). A lady gave me a really foul look and I felt awful but it was that or we went without tea.

On my return I checked the cars parked in P&T - most of them didn't have any visible signs of having children... I just don't understand why people abuse these spaces, it's not a difficult concept is it?

that was a brave thing to admit, dejags, but under the circumstances, I think that most MNers would absolve you...

our local John Lewis has loads of disabled spaces (about 20 I think) right next to the door, and literally 4 P/T spaces a lot further away. Not too bothered about the distance, but as other people have said you need width to get a car seat or wriggly toddler out. Plenty of people park in the disabled spaces without badges, and I think the fact that there are so many of them just encourages them. I think it would be better to have a barriered area for both types of space. You could get out of it with a token obtained inside the shop on production of your blue badge/ baby. That's how the disabled area in our hospital carpark is arrnaged, and its difficult to abuse. Obviuosly wouldn't work in smaller car parks though.

That would be really hard for me to use though Tissy- the blue badge is ds1's- I couldn't leave him in the car, and the there's no way he would go back to the car after getting out (or he might but if we then didn't get in and drive away he's freak- also sounds suspiciously like it would involve queing, which we don't do).

Agree that P and T spaces should be further away from the door. dejags- most of the disabled abusers I've seen have been middle aged workmen popping in for a sandwich. Grrrr.

Dejags, provided you haven't taken the last spot, in your circumstances, if you went to customer services and explained your problem, giving them your car reg, they usually don't mind.