Blue Badge

FabSascha

TheBottomLine wrote: »

That's not correct though, is it? sh1305 clearly has disabilities but cannot get a badge.

That's the point I'm trying to make. If it was tiered then those with less obvious disabilities or less needful (for want of a better word) would be on different tiers to those with severe impairments. It would then be less of a case of 'you look like the image on the blue badge therefore you can have one' and a more realistic approach acknowledging that there are hugely different variations of the word disability.

FabSascha

sh1305 wrote: »

In other words - hierachy of disability!

What's so wrong with a hierarchy of disability? Whilst I fit the severely disabled criteria as set out by the government, I'm well aware that there are people with far worse disabilities than me. It's ridiculous to say that all disabled people will have the exact same requirements just because they qualify as being perceived as disabled. How can someone with a dodgy calf muscle who uses a walking stick be entitled to the exact same help as someone who cannot walk at all and who uses a wheelchair and needs everything adapted?

Indie_Kid

FabSascha wrote: »

What's so wrong with a hierarchy of disability?

You're belittling others by saying their disabilities are meaningless or there's very little / nothing wrong with them - when unless you have their disabilities and all their needs, (some people with the same disabilities will have different needs) you can't comment.

FabSascha

sh1305 wrote: »

You're belittling others by saying their disabilities are meaningless or there's very little / nothing wrong with them - when unless you have their disabilities and all their needs, (some people with the same disabilities will have different needs) you can't comment.

I disagree. I am 100% certain that people with severe disabilities have a harder time than me and would completely expect them to know that. You saying that goes along with the attitude that all disabled people believe nobody has a worse time of it than them, which I'd like to think (and hope) is not the case.

clarissa

I think that having different catorgories of badge could work. Just because there's different catorgories it doesn't mean there's a hierachy of needs. People have different needs and expectations of disabled spaces. For example I need a space close to where I'm going because I can't walk far - distance is the issue, I don't need a wide space. Some wheelchair users and others need a wide space to get in/out of the car but don't need to be on the doorstep - space is the issue, not distance. Some need both. I'm guessing following my own observations most people using a disabled space don't need the extra size spaces.

If the disabled spaces were then positioned with a bit of thought - ie not banks and banks of just large spaces close to the store, there would be room for the same number of normal sized disabled spaces and some wide spaces. There could be another area with just wider spaces at a reasonable distance, ie not the furthest corner! It would be possible to then divvy up the car park so there are normal places close to the store so there would be less need to pinch the disabled spaces just to save a few extra steps.

sox8369

Just to play devils advocate - in a way there is already a hierachy of disability - demonstrated by the different levels of DLA - but i guess the difference is that the DLA award isnt on your windscreen advertising the level of disability to all passers by and onlookers.

I can see both points of view !

TheBottomLine_2

I think we could perhaps have two types of badge, neither considered more disabled than the other. One for wide spaces and one for regular sized. Please don't ask me how we would implement and regulate this!

SingleSue

It's how it would be decided though.....take my father, looking at him, you would think that he wouldn't need a large access space because he doesn't have a wheelchair but in reality he does as he needs assistance to get out of the car.

What if the only disabled space available is one that doesn't have extra wide spaces (some places can only put in normal sized spaces due to room restrictions) but where we could still struggle to get him out (it is possible, just more work) and the next nearest space is a good walk away from the shop/bank etc? His badge on the new basis, would surely not allow him to park in the narrower space and he would have to abandon his trip as he certainly couldn't do the walk from the other space.

So it may solve some problems but it could cause problems in other areas.

FabSascha

SingleSue wrote: »

It's how it would be decided though.....take my father, looking at him, you would think that he wouldn't need a large access space because he doesn't have a wheelchair but in reality he does as he needs assistance to get out of the car.

What if the only disabled space available is one that doesn't have extra wide spaces (some places can only put in normal sized spaces due to room restrictions) but where we could still struggle to get him out (it is possible, just more work) and the next nearest space is a good walk away from the shop/bank etc? His badge on the new basis, would surely not allow him to park in the narrower space and he would have to abandon his trip as he certainly couldn't do the walk from the other space.

So it may solve some problems but it could cause problems in other areas.

I can't imagine there would ever be a system that works flawlessly for everyone and there certainly isn't now. Like I said in an earlier post, it would be a case of meeting some - if not all - of the criteria for various different badges, which I would guess would be established by a medical assessment just like it is now (I know that you don't need a medical assessment to receive a blue badge, but you do to receive DLA higher-rate mobility which indirectly ensures you receive a blue badge). So in the case of your father, I'm assuming the problems he has that means he requires both extra wide parking and a space close to entrances would be medically examined and ensure he's eligible for a badge that reflects both these needs.

I personally would need extra space and to be near entrances, but I wouldn't need access to dropped kerbs as once I'm actually out of the car I can just about cope with things like a couple of steps etc.

Of course all this is following the wildly optimistic belief that those who could cope with slightly less eligibility would be comfortable admitting to that and unfortunately I'm inclined to believe that most wouldn't come forward with that information.

Indie_Kid

Some people (ie, those with walking difficulties who don't receive hRM) do get a medical.