Blue Badges for Temporary Disabilities

[Petitionforchange]

I dislocated my knee badly in November and I’m still on crutches and struggling with mobility. I feel strongly that a temporary ‘blue badge’ for parking could make a huge difference to me and many like me.
My idea is that this could be issued immediately by a doctor or consultant and stamped to last for a certain period of time. All patients with a short term mobility issue would be eligible. The suggestion is that the badge would be a different colour, perhaps purple, to denote it as temporary. It wouldn’t allow free parking but would allow the user to park in wider disabled bays.
if you’ve ever been on crutches, I’m sure you’ll appreciate what a difference this could make. Please sign my petition: https://c.org/VDfSWnj8hT

The poster means blue badges being used by non badge holders.

I can relate to that as the number of blue badge spaces are filled quicker on wet days than dry - I do my regular shopping at the same time on the same weekday and see the fluctuations. And that's without checking windscreens.

should you even be driving?

Ask the people who park in the Blue Badge spaces in free supermarket car parks without a blue badge or those who park in parent and child spaces without young children. I have no idea why they do it but they do.

Locally the latest abuse of the BB scheme is avoiding residence parking, which can cost over £200 per year, if your property qualifies. Three cars within 100 yards of my property use BB to avoid paying. (I know the owner of the BB doesn't live in the road)

As we cannot get one due to sheer incompetence of my dsds consultants office as it is, i would expect drs to refuse. Dsd has complex disabilities including ataxia and we need to fully open the door to get her in and out. Where available I use the parent and child spots and I don’t care about dirty looks from parents, her need is higher than the average 5 year old anyway as she’s bigger and cannot do up her own belt and never will be able to

I'm sorry, I wouldn't support this. Disabled parking spaces should be reserved for those who actually have disabilities.

However, I would be perfectly happy if parent & child spaces could be extended to those with temporary mobility issues.

Exactly OP Like my friend who has been waiting SEVEN YEARS for a knee replacement. Been phoned by the NHS and asked if he still wants to remain on the waiting list.
Been gaslighted and told that his knee problem was because of his TIA when the knee problem happened first. Now his other knee is nearly as bad because of the pressure put on it to avoid putting pressure on the bad one. But yeah..............just temporary 🙄

THIS I posted before i saw your post

Surely someone in this situation could apply for a blue badge?

A disability doesn't have to be permanent but it does need to be long term - i.e. lasting or expected to last for over 12 months.

Why do idiots act like idiots? Why do ignorants act like ignorants? Who knows why ignorant idiots do what they do, but they do. So many people park in BB spaces without a BB because they can’t be bothered to walk, but I’m only going to be 10 minutes, just using the cash machine, the excuse list they use is endless. They’re just plain ignorant. All they have to gain is more arrogance and entitlement. You have a temporary mobility issue, maybe it will help you understand what actual disabled people go through on a daily basis.

Yep Like the parents who park in our housing association car park. I live in a block of flats opposite a school. The HA has put signs up saying if non residents park its a one hundred pound fine

Unfortunately that won’t be enforceable 😖
I just don’t understand why people can’t just follow basic rules 🤷‍♀️

Oh they did this before in two thousand and nine and slapped a ticket on DHs then car. Despite the fact we live here and have a permit It was pissing with rain and the warden was likely too bone idle to walk round to the front of the car took months to get it sorted.

I wonder how many blue badge spaces would be taken if they were the opposite end of a supermarket car park, or other end of the hospital car park?

Personally, we don’t need a space near the entrance. Just a safe space to be able to drop down the tail lift and get our son in his wheelchair out. And it needs to be big enough to park a van. I don’t care how far I have to push him, I’m going to have to push him around Tesco or the hospital, so why do I need to park close.

We used to notice when we went to France that disabled spaces were always available. I’d be curious to know why they didn’t abuse the system, or whether that’s changed over the years.

Maybe, in OPs situation there could be wider spaces further from the entrance to accommodate doors opening further. They wouldn’t be convenient for those lazy parkers so maybe wouldn’t be abused.

Disability parking is for long term disabilities and not temporary, short term ones. Whilst I understand how frustrating it is to have restricted mobility, when it’s life long or enduring for years it’s a whole different ball game. This parking isn’t for people with broken legs )which is what it would be used for) and it’s deeply unfair to make doctors the decision makers on who gets a purple badge with doctors being bullied by patients into giving them out.

It can take MONTHS to receive a blue badge depending on your area. I’d imagine most temporarily disabled people would be recovered before it was issued.

But the OP is suggesting being able to skip that process and have a not 'quite blue' badges handed out without the process that Blue Badge holders have to go through but doesn't think it would be massively abused:

Hey GP I've got terrible back pain please give me a purple badge.

Hey Dave. I've got to go to X and the parking is awful and its cold and wet out but there is a disabled space just out side lend me your purple badge.

Hey this easily forged untraceable bit of paper will let me park where I like? Great lets photocopy a few.

They would be rife for abuse.

Agree completely. It’s a ridiculous idea - let’s just make it harder for permanently disabled, while us temporarily disabled can trample all over them and use their spaces (ones that are rare enough to find as it is!) 🙄

Every step causes me more pain so spaces at the far end of a car park would be zero help to me.

And that’s why I think they need to put spaces at front and back. You’d park near the entrance so you’re in slightly less pain, whereas we’d park at the back because we just need a safe space. Rather than driving round the hospital for hours, we’d get a space because lazy non badge holders wouldn’t abuse the space. Hopefully, meaning more spaces available for those that need them.

As long as the temporary badge could only be used to stop people being arsey when you park in a parent and child bay.

The driver can drive to front of the shop entrance and drop off the ‘temporarily disabled’, go park up and meet them at the entrance. When the shopping is done the driver takes the shopping to the car and collects them from the entrance so they don’t have to walk far or worry about being close to other parked cars. Taxis do drop offs so it would only be the same.
If anyone is to question that and say what if I’m shopping alone? The answer would be if you can drive yourself to the shop you can use a normal bay. Leave the bays for the actual disabled

Why do people usually abuse the bays now? It’s because they’re usually at the front of the store for the lazy people who don’t have a badge but cba to walk and they have wider bays for those that worry about having a door dinged

The friend i mentioned who has been waiting seven years for a knee replacement can drive but has trouble walking Because that means bearing weight on his knees now that both knees are bad thanks to the NHS wait, He doesnt walk he shuffles. Some people can drive but cant walk or struggle to do so Do i really need to mention Formula One drivers who have been involved in life changing accidents but still manage and choose to participate in the sport? Its supremely ignorant to assume that because someone can drive they must be ok

Does your friend have an adapted car?