Help Do Something About Abuse of Disabled Bays!

[Davros]

The Baywatch campaign for protecting disabled parking facilities is urging people to get involved in the 2007 national survey of disabled parking bay abuse.

The survey, which will take place between 23-29 July, is organised by the disabled drivers and passengers charity Mobilise and the British Polio Fellowship. Volunteers are asked to count the number of people parked in disabled bays at their local supermarket without displaying a legitimate Blue Badge.

Helen Smith, Mobilise's director of policy and campaigns, said: "Some 25 percent of disabled parking spaces are occupied by people who shouldn't be parking there. We want to change the public's attitude with this campaign, and also to work with service providers to change the way bays are managed.

If you would like to take part in this year's survey, call Mobilise on 01508 489449 or download a survey at baywatchcampaign.co.uk

I told someone off the other day

in huge jeep thing

got a small baby out in a car seat and I said erm it is a disabled bay

and she said, yes I have a baby and stalked off

sorry cant get worked up

agree that parking in a disabled space is crap but no way am I getting arsey in tescos yeovil

would get knifed

I have challenged someone very rarely because it so awful. But I assume that is one of the things this survey/campaign wants to address - that if the service providers (supermarkets etc) properly supported and protected disabled parking then no-one would need to say something direct to someone but would be listened to and taken seriously if they report it to staff. That doesn't happen now, I have told staff in shops before and they couldn't care less.

I would like to stop getting abuse when I park in them

pmsl fio

lol, wish i could afford a car to be able to use disabled parking bay! that would be nice! Try doing this using public transport with 2 disabled kids!

Can't you get a Motability car?

i get sick of the stares - one woman almost leant across my bonnet to see my parking sticker another walked into a pole as she was so busy checking out our car for our sticker!! sometimes natural justice is fab.

would get involved if I was in the UK.

ooh oliveoil a mumsnetter perhaps?

we get the "look" when we park in disabled bays too, i have ben know whilst being watched to get all three blue badges out and make a big show of putting them in the window
had one elderly lady in the next bay pick up her blue badge and wave it at me, so i got my 3 badges out and waved them at her

pmsl at waving three back

Another thing that annoys me with regard to parking is people who park on the footpath, forcing people in wheelchairs, buggies ect into the raod and putting themselves in danger. It was only last week I was supporting a gent with, among other things, is partially sighted and unsteady on his feet who reqires arm-in-arm support when out in the community and I had to take him into the road to get him back home as there was a car fully parked on the path and the occupant was talking on his phone If I didn't have a client with me I would have squeezed down the foot or so of the gap of footpath left and hopefully ripped his mirror off in the process to teach him a lesson. He didn't even appologise as we had to walk right past his open window as no opposite footpath and had to walk in the road and not just cross it.

Supportman - I would have banged on his window and told him to move before I called the police!

It is an offence to block a footpath - not that you'd know it as it never seems to get enforced.

And I hate the misuse of disabled bays. I am itching for someone to give me a hard time for parking in one as I have a whole repertoire of sarky comebacks - all we get at the mo is dirty looks.