Disabled Parking Rant!!!!!

Unity

kingfisherblue wrote: »

Someone said earlier about a younger disabled person using a disabled bay with a blue badge, but older people seeming to think that it is only those over 65 who should park in these spaces. My son is eleven and has been disabled since birth. He has had a blue badge from about 2 or 3 years old - the earliest that we could get one for him. At the supermarket, I park in a disabled bay and he walks to the trollies with me - as he can walk short distances - but then sits in the main body of the trolley where the shopping goes. I can't take his wheelchair as it is a child sized one and the clumsy trollies that fix onto wheelchairs do not fit. Nor can I put him into one of the store's wheelchairs as he is too small.

We have had some glares from people when we park in a disabled space, but no one has ever said anything to me. A friend has had a few comments, though,although her daughter has the same condition as my son. Age is no indication of disability.

Also, as SmallEnglish states, people can be disabled but still able to walk. My son, who has Down's syndrome, can only walk for short distances for two reasons - breathing difficulties and hypermobile joints. If he walks any distance, it becomes painful for him both in his chest and in his legs. Hence the main reason for his blue badge. His learning disability has also been taken into account, as he is sometimes liable to run into the road without any thought for traffic. Naturally, we have always worked hard to teach him road safety, but there are still times when he forgets everything that we have tried to teach him.

Regarding legal versus moral rights, I only ever use a disabled bay when my son is with me.

Sadly you are not alone in observing this phenomenon - there are some proper little Victor/Victoria Meldrews around 'policing' disabled bays nowadays :rolleyes:. I've had my blue badge since they were orange and I was 22, having suffered an industrial accident and spinal damage at the grand old age of 17 (it was the orthopaedic surgeon who told me to apply). The dirty looks I've had over the years, whether in my 'chariot' or on crutches have been quite something. However, since discretion is the better part of valour, I've overcome the desire to point out that if the frost comes their face will stay like that and other such appropriate comments . Thankfully my age is catching up with me now - so I don't get quite so many dirty looks .

Just totally ignore them - and their ageist attitudes . I'm sure you're doing a great job in teaching your son road sense. When he gets a bit older you can teach him that wisdom doesn't always come with age, sometimes age comes on it's own :rotfl:.

mouseymousey99

Can I just add one teeny thing. Please don't be ageist! I get just as many glares from the young ones as from older people. (I'm 49). Being ageist is just as bad as being anti-disabled (in my humble and if you see what I mean) its putting people in boxes.

Unity

mouseymousey99 wrote: »

Can I just add one teeny thing. Please don't be ageist! I get just as many glares from the young ones as from older people. (I'm 49). Being ageist is just as bad as being anti-disabled (in my humble and if you see what I mean) its putting people in boxes.

This is true - I've had my badge for 30 years now - so I've seen it from both sides, although by and large I've found younger people are more aware that disability isn't age related. This may well be down to better education on equality and diversity however.

'Putting people in boxes' reminded me of a biker friend of mine. One of the people he rides with has a blue badge and it certainly causes some stares when he gets off his powerful machine in a disabled bay.

Sometimes - and only if it's a really bad day and he's in a lot of pain, he does have to take his artificial leg off for a spell though :eek:.

LilacPixie

I don't have a blue badge but a friend of mine does. He has a congenital heart defect and is waiting a transplant at the moment. As a result he can only walk short distances and does have a wheelchair but at 24 stubbornly refuses to use it chosing to only go out if he only has to walk a short distance. You should see the glares he gets when parking in a disabled bay to get some water/juice from Tesco's

Invasion

LilacPixie, can he not try and see it as something enabling.. particularly as it's only a temporary thing for him, I started using a wheelchair just after my 16th birthday, coming up 2 years ago now, and it's not been easy, but without it I'd have been housebound the majority of the time, I found it useful to have someone explain to me that, if I wasn't going out because I didn't want to use my wheelchair, then my illness was beating me, being able to go out in my wheelchair means I can have some fun and do some "normal" things when I'm well enough. I do understand it's hard, it takes some getting used to, but if it means he can do some things that he wants to, surely it's worth it?

LilacPixie

Invasion. It's a bit like beating your head against a brick wall. He has it in his head that if he starts using the chair then it is the begining of the end. all very negitive IMO but then he doesn't agree with some of my choices either

ShaShaSha

Unity wrote: »

It may well be that the security guard was actually breaking the law as it relates to the OP. When he approached her, she said that she asked him to first approach those drivers who had parked in disabled bays without a badge, but he would not do so.

Under the Disability Discrimination Act it is not lawful to treat a disabled person less favourably than a non-disabled person. In pursuing the disabled person in this way, but refusing to accost those illegally parked in disabled bays - this is exactly what he was doing.

If the supermarket introduces double yellow lines, with the idea that they should be treated the same as those on the public highway - then they should expect that disabled people will adopt the same rules i.e. they can park on them with their badge and clock for three hours .

My local Sainsbury's has complicated things even further, by placing the disabled bays directly in front of all their cash machines. I wonder which brain box thought that was a good idea? :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

You know I did think this, but as always was worried someone would accuse me of calling the 'disabled card' if I was to mention this

Thanks

veggyboy

LilacPixie wrote: »

Invasion. It's a bit like beating your head against a brick wall. He has it in his head that if he starts using the chair then it is the begining of the end. all very negitive IMO but then he doesn't agree with some of my choices either

AS a fellow transplant waiter, i understand where he is coming from with that. I cant walk far either now and the distance is getting shorter every time I go out. But I want to keep walking as long as I can.