Blue Badge

Indie_Kid

rolopolo wrote: »

I think the unable to walk criteria could well apply as I find it difficult to walk up and down stairs and to walk safely in dark car parks.

I argued on this point and still got turned down. What I have also causes extreme tiredness and dry eyes - I can hardly see sometimes. (not bad enough to register blind - I got told last year I could now drive - I think not!)

cherub1965

we will never all agree who should and shouldnt have badges.i see the point idvi,sh,etc are making and i agree with them to a point.i didnt understand their need as they cant drive due to their health issues and if they would always have somebody with them if they went into meltdow as one poster put it,or need help due to sight problems.would a few more feet away in a normal bay make so much difference?and before you all pounce on me i do now understand your side of things after reading your posts.but none of you have been awarded badges?i and others on here have considerable difficulty walking and that few feet more does make a difference.far too many badges are being applied for/given out now.it just makes the ability to park close to shops etc more difficult for people with mobility difficulty.maybe there should be a shake up of the system and the 'rules' made a bit clearer?
it has got to the point i no longer go shopping alone as i am rarely able to park where i need as all disabled bays are taken,mostly by non badge holders tbh.i travel further to shopping centre which is pay and display with a guy giving tickets out,proper traffic wardens,so i can be sure of getting close to where i need to go.private carparks are a joke.i just dont bother.asda is the worst.

cherub1965

rolopolo wrote: »

I think the unable to walk criteria could well apply as I find it difficult to walk up and down stairs and to walk safely in dark car parks. However, I think I will wait a while before applying so I can see how I feel about it.

My other alternative is to wait until I next go to Moorfields to see if I would be registered blind and then I would automatically get one.

surely your doc backs you up if you are so bad? must be awful for you.am surprised you dont qualify.

Indie_Kid

cherub1965 wrote: »

we will never all agree who should and shouldnt have badges.i see the point idvi,sh,etc are making and i agree with them to a point.i didnt understand their need as they cant drive due to their health issues and if they would always have somebody with them if they went into meltdow as one poster put it,or need help due to sight problems.would a few more feet away in a normal bay make so much difference?

Yes it would. Crossing the car park can be rather dangerous at times - especially on a bad day. (mental or physical healthwise)

kingfisherblue

Wow, such a lot of posts since I turned on my PC this morning. There are so many that I want to reply to, but after several pages of reading, I've forgotten where most of them are and what some of them say.

The main thing that I wanted to answer is the comment about disabled spaces being for people in wheelchairs, not for people who can run.

My son has a BB and receives HRM. He can walk very short distances. He can also run a few steps, but stops very quickly because he has breathing problems and also hypermobile joints. Both of these cause considerable pain.

He does have a wheelchair, but I would like him to continue walking whenever possible. If he runs a few steps, that's fine if he's happy. Unfortunately, he soon stops due to pain.

I don't take his wheelchair everywhere,as I often drive him from door to door. If I decide to stop at the supermarket on the way home, I use a disabled space for two reasons. First, so that I can open the door wide enough for him to get out safely and comfortably. This also means that I can lean into the car to fasten his seatbelt when we get back to the car - not possible in ordinary spaces. The second reason is so that he doesn't have far to walk when I don't have his chair with us. He cannot manage traipsing round the supermarket for any length of time, but in my area, only Tesco have a trolley that is suitable for disabled children. Other than that, it's either carry him (not possible any more), sit him in a trolley (not really desirable) or use an adult siz wheelchair (not very comfortable for him).

As a result, I usually pop into my local Tesco if my son is with me, although I prefer Morrisons most of the time.

Disabled spaces are not just for those who use a wheelchair all the time. They are for people who fulfill the criteria. Being in pain and having an adverse effect on health are valid reasons for receiving a BB - my son qualifies on both grounds. In my area, people with Down's syndrome automatically qualify for a BB, so he would get one ojn that count too.

To the new member of the forums - I can't remember your name but wanted to welcome you.

sunnyone

ash4becks wrote: »

Quote: Originally Posted by pwales
why are some people trying to be disabled !

There is? Where?

has to be said i would love nothing better to be skint with no problems never have to go to the doctors or hospitails all the time because i want to be a 24year old out clubing and painting the town and to have my life back , so please dont judge the odd few people that take the mick for people with problems iam sure theres more people with geuniue needs

nice post;)

idvi

cherub1965 wrote: »

we will never all agree who should and shouldnt have badges.i see the point idvi,sh,etc are making and i agree with them to a point.i didnt understand their need as they cant drive due to their health issues and if they would always have somebody with them if they went into meltdow as one poster put it,or need help due to sight problems.would a few more feet away in a normal bay make so much difference?and before you all pounce on me i do now understand your side of things after reading your posts.but none of you have been awarded badges?i and others on here have considerable difficulty walking and that few feet more does make a difference.far too many badges are being applied for/given out now.it just makes the ability to park close to shops etc more difficult for people with mobility difficulty.maybe there should be a shake up of the system and the 'rules' made a bit clearer?
it has got to the point i no longer go shopping alone as i am rarely able to park where i need as all disabled bays are taken,mostly by non badge holders tbh.i travel further to shopping centre which is pay and display with a guy giving tickets out,proper traffic wardens,so i can be sure of getting close to where i need to go.private carparks are a joke.i just dont bother.asda is the worst.

like i keep saying in most of my posts - i dont want one for disabled bays, i want one so we can park on single or double yellow lines in and around town so i can go door to door from home to pharmacy/hairdressers/opticians etc. in those cases, the nearest car park is sometimes all the way across town - not an extra 20 meters away.

i probably would never use a bluebadge for a disabled bay at tesco, asda etc.

kusadasi040667

Hi All, I had a horrible incident recently in a supermarket car park.I'm a wheelchair user with neuro probs in constant pain. My husband thankfully was with me he had just helped me transfer and had put my powerchair away & got into the passenger seat when a van pulled into the next disabled bay next 2 us a man jumped out and walked past the front of my car & shouted abuse at me that I wasn't F***ING disabled and worse!! I asked him (stupidly ) to come over so he could see my hand controls,powerchair & hoist but he carried on to the cash point still hurling abuse my husband asked him to stop as he was out of order & also showed him my BB he then accussed us of making it & when my Husband pointed out he was in a D-Bay without a BB his response was my wife has got one he would not accept that was irrelevant as wife not with him & even if she was she could not have stayed in the car in a D-Bay displaying her BB as this was against BB rules but heh suppose we should of ignored his insults.I dont think people always realise why D-Bays need to be wider for the reasons of fitting a chair in gap or needing more space for e.g a person using crutches or another person to assist them.I dont mind parking in a futhur away D-Bay as obviously in chair that is less of an issue for me and I would rather leave the closer ones for someone who is struggling to walk at all especially as I remember that well with each painful step (not left for those selfish lot that do not have any type of special needs) I must admit it is annoying that some are ignorant but I try to counteract with how many lovely people I've come accross that day. Take care all .... K

FabSascha

I think the whole blue badge system needs to be revised. Whilst I can totally see the OP (and other people's) point in needing a blue badge, if all people with eye problems, anxiety issues, balance problems etc were issued with a blue badge, there'd be no point, would there? I think the best thing they could do is issue them on a sliding scale, so that people with severe mobility issues get the top rated one, people with moderate issues get the next level down and so on - they could match it to what DLA the person is receiving. To me, it feels like it's got to the point where so many people have a blue badge now that it's no real use any more.

I was at the hospital recently and there were literally fights between several blue badge holders over a space that became free. It all needs to be rethought as it just doesn't work anymore.

Indie_Kid

FabSascha wrote: »

I think the whole blue badge system needs to be revised. Whilst I can totally see the OP (and other people's) point in needing a blue badge, if all people with eye problems, anxiety issues, balance problems etc were issued with a blue badge, there'd be no point, would there? I think the best thing they could do is issue them on a sliding scale, so that people with severe mobility issues get the top rated one, people with moderate issues get the next level down and so on - they could match it to what DLA the person is receiving. To me, it feels like it's got to the point where so many people have a blue badge now that it's no real use any more.

What good would that do?