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

Horasio

I don't condone non disabled people using disabled spaces but at a quiet time when there are plenty of other disabled spaces for a quick visit to the cash machine is hardly a major crime, especially on private land.

Normally, we always stick to the able bodied spaces and hate seeing able bodied people park in disabled spaces when it looks obvious they are going to stay for a while and it is busy.

My husband broke his leg and tho he was not eligible for a disabled badge, Sainsburys stuck tickets on our car. He was temporarily disabled and it is stressful enough shopping etc. We displayed a notice on our dashboard saying he had a broken leg/physio appointment.

I think they were being petty in the case of the first poster and with my husband.

JasonLVC

CCStar - I guess your right and explains why the shops tend to turn a blind eye to it. They'll be damned if they fine people, they'll be damned if they don't fine them, they'll be damned if they don't fine temporarily disabled people and then that opens up a whole can of 'define disabled' again.

If carpark has a sign saying don't park in disabled spots without a badge, then them's the rules and they should be adhered to.

skint-78

JasonLVC
You have a very good point!
It must do your head in coordinating 3 kids round a supermarket without having to negotiate you all round a mad carpark first! I think maybe people some how regard "parent and child" spaces with less significance than "disabled" spaces.

(This bit is not only for JasonLVC)
I think it was a big step for supermarkets to start to advertise disabled parking spaces as being for use by those with blue badges only.
Personally I think there needs to be more scope. I know prior to having my blue badge issued, I certainly couldn't park away from the doors. I really needed to use a disabled space if there were no other spaces near to the doors. And at that time it wasn't a problem to the super markets either. It must mean that there are people in the same boat now.

I do think that if it says that spaces are for blue badge holders only it must be adhered to, and any fines that result in misuse should be paid.
Just like I got a fine for parking in a stupid place to go to a bank. I knew it was a risk when I stuck my car where I did.

It is true that there is huge scope for the condition or diagnosis of the blue badge holder. I think that the focus is on the functional ability of those people. There are very specific criteria that must be met in order to be issued with a blue badge. So I don't think it is necessarily fair to judge blue badge holders on their outward appearance. At the end of the day blue badges are issued to people. You can't negotiate getting one....I don't think!

Wig

carrie483 wrote:

I totally agree, and i also think that we should have the same law here as in America, if you park in a handicapped space without a badge then you can get arrested and should be.

In America they get proper sized spaces not the sardine can spaces we are given, so people are quite happy to park in normal spaces in US.

danio_2

funnyguy wrote:

i would like to know why these supermarket car parks have so many disabled bays in the first place..they are never all used..They provide a good 20/30 spaces in many of them ..and then normally have 2 at the most disable trollies for shopping with.I dont normally see 20/30 disabled people in the supermarket at one time either{no disrespect to disabled people}

What a stupid comment!! Lets just hope that you never have to use a disabled bay, because if you do your comment may just come back to haunt you

JasonLVC

I think supermarkets may be pleastantly surprised by the positive support and reaction of their customers if they did strictly enforce parking in thier car parks. Not just blue spaces or parent child, but also people who park sideways, at angles and generally anti-social.

It would be brave of them, as they would loose some customers, but, seeing as it would be the kind who do not respect other peoples predicaments, then I say good ridence and I suspect the customers and new ones would flock into the shop in support.

My local Asda doesn't issue fines but it used to put a big sticker over the drivers side window that says 'inappropriate parking' and was a big A4 sized yellow sticker that was very sticky (if you know what I mean) and took ages to pick/peel off - thus inconveniencing the customer (I guess temporarily diabling them!). I think they stopped it a while back as it was being considered criminal damage by some vehicle owners. So, you can see that it's a big issue that will always be controversial.

Horasio

I saw a man park in a parent and child space today, he was alone with no child seat in the car.

There weren't any P&C spaces when I had a young child but I still parked in normal spaces.

I agree the extra sticky stickers are a nuisance and is defacing to the car window.

Yes bad parking gets my goat everytime. Target them instead.

They are being petty over the wrong culprits IMO

taxiphil

funnyguy said:
i would like to know why these supermarket car parks have so many disabled bays in the first place..they are never all used..They provide a good 20/30 spaces in many of them ..and then normally have 2 at the most disable trollies for shopping with.I dont normally see 20/30 disabled people in the supermarket at one time either{no disrespect to disabled people}

danio said:
What a stupid comment!! Lets just hope that you never have to use a disabled bay, because if you do your comment may just come back to haunt you

I don't think this was a stupid comment at all, I think it was a perfectly fair comment. Funnyguy wasn't suggesting abolishing all disabled bays - he was saying there is often a disproportionate amount of them. This is a valid observation.

My local Morrisons, when it changed from a Safeway, converted half the upper level of the multistorey car park to disabled bays. There are now about 40 disabled spaces. Nearly all the disabled bays are normally empty, and everyone else is driving round in circles, wasting petrol, trying to find a normal space because there aren't enough of them!

Since it's quite a small town, I reckon if every disabled person in the town suddenly went to Morrisons at the same time they still wouldn't fill all the disabled bays!

This is about balancing peoples' needs effectively. Disabled badges are given out far too liberally - often for extremely trivial ailments. How many times do you actually see someone struggling out of a disabled parking space and getting into a wheelchair to do their shopping? Once in a blue moon.

There should be disabled bays for the genuine needy cases, but only about 5 per typical supermarket. If this ever causes a shortage at busy times like Christmas, why shouldn't disabled people have to queue for a disabled space like the rest of us? Or is it yet another hardship and injustice for them to sit in their comfortable heated car which they got free from the Motability scheme while they wait for a disabled space to become available? Equal rights should be a bit more equal in my opinion.

danio_2

Or is it yet another hardship and injustice for them to sit in their comfortable heated car which they got free from the Motability scheme while they wait for a disabled space to become available? Equal rights should be a bit more equal in my opinion.

Just like to point out that Cars on the Motability scheme are NOT free, a disabled person actually pays the Mobility part of their DLA to Motability to finance the car, Roughly £50 per week, which is a lot of money when you are on benefits, BUT a car is a lifeline to a disabled person, so they pay it.


A disabled person doesn't have the luxury of being able to run across a car park when it's pouring down with rain, Life should be made as easy as possible for them, they have enough to cope with, and this includes being able to park in a disabled bay without having to wait because there aren't enough spaces, or because some ignorant able bodied person decides to take a disabled spot because they can't be bothered to walk a few extra feet.


I would challenge any able bodied person who thinks it is ok to park in a disabled bay to spend a day in a wheelchair......they might just then think twice in future!!

By the way I am an able bodied person, who would never even think of taking a disabled bay......I have more respect than that......shame others don't

liz_uk

Think it serves OP right for parking in a disabled bay. I always see people without disabled passes parking in disabled bay and it gets my back up.

Also parents and child spaces.

I have been in Cheltenham plenty of time and have approached people who blatantly have no kids and are just god damn lazy !!

They are more embarrassed than anything !!

Don`t be so bloomin lazy and park in a normal bay !