Blue Badge 'police'

laura-lou_3

just after reading the first page it reminded me of all the funny looks i get when parking.(not just my bad driving!!) my son receives highest rate DLA, but as he doesnt receive the mobility part, we do not get the blue badge. which is fine anyway as i dont feel we need it.

but even when i park in a MOTHER AND BABY space, i get people waiting behind me as i park, and glare at me to check where my child is! these mums in big 4x4's seem to think they own those spaces...it really makes me laugh!

i parked up in boots car park the other day and a woman behind me with a car full of kids parked right behind my car, got so close and stared into my car, straining her head to see where my brood of children where.... i got out and she was still there, parked right next to the boot of my car staring and shaking her head, while her kids were jumping around the backseat (zero seatbelts-great mum!) - i honestly think she was still waiting for me to move..... so as slowly as i could, got my handbag, then got my coat on, and then walked right up to her, turned round and opened my boot to reveal a rather bulky item...called a pushchair! haha- the look on her face as i smiled politely was enough to cheer me up for the rest of the day!

anyway, my point is that some people can be very quick to assume you are "stealing their space". Its not fair but i think its something thats always going to happen. i must admit i have parked in a child space before and as im walking away realised i havent got my son with me....and i do atually feel a bit guilty because i hate it when others do that.

i feel extremely sorry for those that say they have to justify their disabilty, thats a disgrace! i wouldnt give anyone ANY kind of explanation if it was me, infact i think id just make them more annoyed and tell them i borrowed my nans badge so i could get a bigger space..... let them get angry about it!

it also saddens me to hear of people too afraid to use their badge. i think you should be confident in yourself, and understand that only the uneducated and ignorant are those that judge...and they are the ones who deserve the least thought...

Madz

I'm 45 and have a blue badge due to M.E and Fibromyalgia. I only park in the spaces when I need to. If I'm feeling ok-ish I don't bother. I get looks all the time. It's horrible. Just because I don't have a wheelchair doesn't mean I don't have mobility issues. I would question those who use disabled spaces if they're staying in the car. If someone who doesn't need a blue badge is doing stuff for you while you sit in the car why do you need to be in a disabled space?

dave030445

Madz wrote: »

I'm 45 and have a blue badge due to M.E and Fibromyalgia. I only park in the spaces when I need to. If I'm feeling ok-ish I don't bother. I get looks all the time. It's horrible. Just because I don't have a wheelchair doesn't mean I don't have mobility issues. I would question those who use disabled spaces if they're staying in the car. If someone who doesn't need a blue badge is doing stuff for you while you sit in the car why do you need to be in a disabled space?

that makes you just as bad as the others thats the rule of the blue badge.

Madz

dave030445 wrote: »

that makes you just as bad as the others thats the rule of the blue badge.

Pardon? It makes me just as bad as the others or the people using a disabled space just to sit in the car as bad as the others? You don't need a disabled space to just sit in the car, do you? You're potentially denying someone who does need it.

Savvy_Sue

Madz wrote: »

Pardon? It makes me just as bad as the others or the people using a disabled space just to sit in the car as bad as the others? You don't need a disabled space to just sit in the car, do you? You're potentially denying someone who does need it.

but sometimes the disabled person may need to leave the car and use the loo, or may, after sitting a while be OK to go in. also you don't know - unless you've seen them drive up - that they haven't already been in and come out again. and what if it's a disabled driver who has left their companion in the car to go and buy Durex / tampax / a surprise?

point is, you just don't know WHY someone is sitting in a car with a BB, and whose business is it anyway?

I sometimes used to take a BB friend shopping: we'd separate and run our errands, but one of us was always going to get back before the other so would be sitting alone in the car.

Madz

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

but sometimes the disabled person may need to leave the car and use the loo, or may, after sitting a while be OK to go in. also you don't know - unless you've seen them drive up - that they haven't already been in and come out again. and what if it's a disabled driver who has left their companion in the car to go and buy Durex / tampax / a surprise?

point is, you just don't know WHY someone is sitting in a car with a BB, and whose business is it anyway?

I sometimes used to take a BB friend shopping: we'd separate and run our errands, but one of us was always going to get back before the other so would be sitting alone in the car.

I'm not talking about challenging them, I'm asking people who qualify for a badge and think it's ok to sit in the car while someone who doesn't need a disabled space goes into the shop for them to reconsider their actions. If there's a genuine reason why the disabled person is sitting in the car in a disabled space while someone else does their shopping for them then fair enough but too many people think that a blue badge just qualifies them to do what they want. There aren't enough spaces for people to behave so selfishly. I only use a disabled space when I really need one.

I guess I'm asking people to self-police. Just think about what you're doing and how it impacts on others.

hippygran

We dont intentionally park in a disabled spot when my husband is not getting out of the car!
He often finds that when he tries to get out of the car on arrival, he cant! Or at least not without considerable pain.
Sometimes we park up, and he can get out. More often, we park up, he cant get out uimmediately, but joins me later, and sometimes he cant get out at all!
He doesnt really know till he tries!
If there is no intention of him getting out of the car from the outset, then of course I park elsewhere! Usually the local (still 16 miles though) Iceland, which has no car park, so he stays in the car, paid for, on the pay and display which is too far for him to walk at any time!

Brassedoff

Madz wrote: »

I'm 45 and have a blue badge due to M.E and Fibromyalgia. I only park in the spaces when I need to. If I'm feeling ok-ish I don't bother. I get looks all the time. It's horrible. Just because I don't have a wheelchair doesn't mean I don't have mobility issues. I would question those who use disabled spaces if they're staying in the car. If someone who doesn't need a blue badge is doing stuff for you while you sit in the car why do you need to be in a disabled space?

Yes, I agree with you. Today at the physio Dept, eight spaces, one filled with young lad in the car waiting. There were no spaces near the Dept. I had to phone the reception and explain I was having to go home to pick up my wife so she could drop me off. When I got back, the same lad was still there, still no spaces, then as I am waiting for my appointment the young lad drove out of the space to outside the door to collect his passengers who were both elderly.

Now, not complaining that they had or used a blue badge, but the young lad whilst technically being right in using the badge and space for the benefit of a blue badge holder, did not use it for them to get to and from the space.

Madz

hippygran wrote: »

We dont intentionally park in a disabled spot when my husband is not getting out of the car!
He often finds that when he tries to get out of the car on arrival, he cant! Or at least not without considerable pain.
Sometimes we park up, and he can get out. More often, we park up, he cant get out uimmediately, but joins me later, and sometimes he cant get out at all!
He doesnt really know till he tries!
If there is no intention of him getting out of the car from the outset, then of course I park elsewhere! Usually the local (still 16 miles though) Iceland, which has no car park, so he stays in the car, paid for, on the pay and display which is too far for him to walk at any time!

Well, that's why I'm talking in terms of 'self-policing'. No-one knows the situation of the person sitting in the car but I know some people think it's ok to use the blue badge as long as the disabled person is in the car. Sometimes that means that the disabled space is being used when it isn't really needed. Those spaces are at a premium and I'd just like it if people sometimes just applied a little thought.

LizCK1

Several times I've been waiting in the car and been told by people it's wrong and you're not allowed to do this. However I'm not the blue badge holder. My husband has Motor Neurone Disease and although he has a lot of problems walking as we've two children under 4 it's often easier and quicker for him to get out and go and do whatever is needed rather than unload them. On another note as we are a young family we frequently get glared at and have had the badge checked several times. He was told by one elderly couple that the spaces were needed by older people and he had no right to park there. He couldn't care less but I can see so easily how others must be intimidated by this sort of behaviour.