Parking ticket in Asda car park - Is this legal, can they take me to court?

Mark7799

Idiophreak wrote: »

tbh, I might be alone here, but I'm not sure that having a false leg really *is* disabled enough...if he was walking freely and she couldn't notice the difference I don't see why he needs a disabled space...I reckon he should've been leaving the space free for people who really needed it.

I don't think that's enough time to foem a judgement. An ex-colleague of mine also lost a limb and was quite capable of walking 20-30 yards unaided but any longer and he struggled (another reason why disabled spaces are close to the shop?)

January_Embers

Idiophreak wrote: »

tbh, I might be alone here, but I'm not sure that having a false leg really *is* disabled enough...if he was walking freely and she couldn't notice the difference I don't see why he needs a disabled space...I reckon he should've been leaving the space free for people who really needed it.

Hmm...this is a difficult one. He has a false leg and maybe he can walk fine with it but perhaps he can only walk for short periods? Who knows.
This is one of the main issues with Blue Badges - who or what qualifies as 'disabled enough'?
Some people don't look ill or disabled but you can't see what is going on inside of them. My father walks with a stick and his spine is fused in several places due to ankylosing spondylitis. He cannot walk far and is in pain most of the time. Without his walking stick he doesn't 'look disabled', but he is.

I don't know the answer to this problem, maybe send everyone who applies for a blue badge for a medical assessment?

anewman

January_Embers wrote: »

Some people don't look ill or disabled but you can't see what is going on inside of them. My father walks with a stick and his spine is fused in several places due to ankylosing spondylitis. He cannot walk far and is in pain most of the time. Without his walking stick he doesn't 'look disabled', but he is.

There is some obvious misuse of these badges though and there is a black market. http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/localnews/display.var.1483118.0.council_launches_blitz_against_fake_disabled.php I have seen a bentley in Leeds Cty Centre with a blue badge, and my thoughts on it are "how much did they pay for that badge?" Ok a disabled person may well own a bentley, but it's IMO it's highly unlikely due to the levels of discrimination disabled people face in work, reducing their wages. If a person is rich enough to afford a Bentley, they're rich enough to get a ble badge on the black market and rich enough to be arrogant enough to park where they like.

Also no doubt the offspring of disabled elderly relatives borrow the badges for cheap/easy parking, with many 20-30 somethings leaping out of their cars and running better than olympic marathon runners. Also of course people without blue badges somehow believe they are superior to everyone else and that it's ok to park in the disabled bays.

January_Embers

anewman wrote: »

There is some obvious misuse of these badges though and there is a black market. http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/localnews/display.var.1483118.0.council_launches_blitz_against_fake_disabled.php I have seen a bentley in Leeds Cty Centre with a blue badge, and my thoughts on it are "how much did they pay for that badge?" Ok a disabled person may well own a bentley, but it's IMO it's highly unlikely due to the levels of discrimination disabled people face in work, reducing their wages. If a person is rich enough to afford a Bentley, they're rich enough to get a ble badge on the black market and rich enough to be arrogant enough to park where they like.

Also no doubt the offspring of disabled elderly relatives borrow the badges for cheap/easy parking, with many 20-30 somethings leaping out of their cars and running better than olympic marathon runners. Also of course people without blue badges somehow believe they are superior to everyone else and that it's ok to park in the disabled bays.

I agree - there is widespead misuse of blue badges and the scheme in general but personally I don't think its right to judge someone purely on their age or the car they drive.
A grandparent that picks their little one up from my childs school drives an Audi TT convertible and they always have a bluebadge on display. Very nice but much too low for me to get in &out of.;)
We all know badge abuse goes and someone running from their car is less likely to be disabled but disablilty covers all age groups. I am 34 and when I became disabled in my twenties I suffered no end of predjudice from other drivers who thought I was 'trying it on'. One even asked if I'd bought my blue badge on eBay!:rotfl: All this because I looked young and different from their perceived idea of 'disabled'.

Anyway.. anyone have any ideas to combat blue badge fraud / misuse?
Mine has my photo on but I don't see the point as you have to display it with the photo on the back and out of sight. I guess if a traffic warden / police asked to check it then it would be good but I have never been asked.

Maybe some kind of electronic chip that could be scanned so they could tell if the badge was stolen or genuine? Though that wouldn't stop those that loan their badge out to friends and family.

dangeroussports

How can I get hold of a blue badge? Ive displayed my blue petere badge but I cant angry 'tuts' from other motorists and parking attendents always give me a ticket.

If I tell the doctor that I have stubbed toe will he give me a blue badge?

Idiophreak

January_Embers wrote: »

Anyway.. anyone have any ideas to combat blue badge fraud / misuse?

Yeah, the only *real* way to really sort this out is to drastically scale the scheme down...It seems much too easy to get a badge...I'd have thought that the number of people disabled enough not to walk a short distance from the car to the supermarket (let's be honest, the most you have to walk in most carparks is a couple of hundred yards...), but able-bodied enough to wander around the store for an hour once inside would be really quite small anyway...

Cut down the number of people that get given the passes and cut down the number of disabled spaces accordingly. If there are less disabled spaces (and therefore, presumably, more normal spaces), there's more chance the scheme will be respected...But at the mo it seems like half the carpark in most supermarkets are either disabled or MAB, so you can sorta see why people don't respect them as much as they should.

(that said, I never go even close to the disabled bays..I much prefer to park (easily) at the back of the carpark then have a 30 second walk than spend 10 minutes fighting for a slightly closer space...)

Another good idea (that I think was touched on before) is to draw a line between "access" parking spaces and "mobility" parking spaces. I have no problem with people being allowed to park nearer the store if they're going to struggle to get there...but why being in a wheelchair or having children should automatically mean you have to be closer to the store is beyond me.

So, maybe, have a few "blue badge"(access/mobility) parks close to the store, then a few "red badge" (mobility) spaces next to them (ie disabled parks that are normal width)...then have some "access" spaces in the middle, or at the back, of the car park (where they're less likely to be blocked by lazy chavs) and let both MAB and people in wheelchairs etc (that need the extra space around the car, but don't need to be right next to the store) use these.

This increases the number of spaces overall (as there'll be less wider spaces) and decreases the chances of people abusing/ignoring the system.

anewman

January_Embers wrote: »

but personally I don't think its right to judge someone purely on their age or the car they drive.
A grandparent that picks their little one up from my childs school drives an Audi TT convertible and they always have a bluebadge on display. Very nice but much too low for me to get in &out of.;)

Audi TT's cost from about £24k to £30k+ new depending on extras etc. A bentley costs about £150k+ new. Of course I'm not saying people who are disabled cannot earn or save enough to buy one, but obviously it would be more difficult due to discrimination that is rife in the work place (although there is supposedly law to stop it).

January_Embers wrote: »

Anyway.. anyone have any ideas to combat blue badge fraud / misuse? Mine has my photo on but I don't see the point as you have to display it with the photo on the back and out of sight. I guess if a traffic warden / police asked to check it then it would be good but I have never been asked.

Something definitely needs to be done. The current blue badge scheme is a disaster. Also if it was improved so that only those who truely needed them could get *and* use them then people such as you who may not be overtly disabled will face less predjudice, and hopefully in the future no predjudice whatsoever. And it would stop the black market trade and people who can pay their way getting hold of them. But from the news stories about them being sold on the black market it looks like all they're interested in doing is expensive and time consuming checking that people who have blue badges are the people who should. Surely their resources would be better aimed at improving the badges.

Idiophreak wrote: »

(that said, I never go even close to the disabled bays..I much prefer to park (easily) at the back of the carpark then have a 30 second walk than spend 10 minutes fighting for a slightly closer space...)

I generally do the same unless there's heavy rain like it has been recently.

Idiophreak

The other, obvious, way to sort it out in supermarkets (sorry, I didn't think of this before ) is to put a barrier on the disabled section of the carpark...and give you a ticket to get out again on production of a blue badge/photoID, whatever at customer services...or a £100 fine...

(btw, I tend to share this stereotype that it's harder for the disabled to make that kinda money...but it could easily be someone who married/was born into money, or someone who was able-bodied then had a mishap, or just the exception to the rule ....also, if they're old enough to afford the insurance on a Bentley, odds on they've just got a blue badge because their body's starting to fall to pieces with age )

Yogibear

why does the cost of the car matter,ie Audi,I have seen Porsches,Jaguars,Mercedes with disabled badges,so what you dont get them for nothing believe me!! There is abuse there is no doubt a lot of people mis-use them, through ignorance, if you take your disabled friends/relatives to the shops the disabled person must be taken into the shop as well its illegal to have them sitting in the vehicle as you go shopping. if you get the higher rate DLA you don`t have to get a car

hollydays

Idiophreak wrote: »

The other, obvious, way to sort it out in supermarkets (sorry, I didn't think of this before ) is to put a barrier on the disabled section of the carpark...and give you a ticket to get out again on production of a blue badge/photoID, whatever at customer services...or a £100 fine...

(btw, I tend to share this stereotype that it's harder for the disabled to make that kinda money...but it could easily be someone who married/was born into money, or someone who was able-bodied then had a mishap, or just the exception to the rule ....also, if they're old enough to afford the insurance on a Bentley, odds on they've just got a blue badge because their body's starting to fall to pieces with age )

Your suggesting re-designing ever car park in the country?:D