Blue badge benefits?

knightstyle

Hi, have you got this yet,
http://www.accessibleguide.co.uk/home.php?gclid=CJqok6WD3rMCFXHLtAodNmYALw
Well worth getting. Plus always read car park signs carefully, some offer double time if blue badge displayed, some free.
Next you can get onto a ferry parked right next to the lift, makes life easier, many hotels have rooms with disabled friendly facilities, always ask for things like this people are usually very helpful.

Gilbert2

applepad wrote: »

Most but not all disabled people work part time or not at all.

I can no longer work and do not want to claim benefits, but as i am home allday and not very mobile I need to heat my home.

On aday out not paying for parking and or tolls might mean we can afford to go out. Every penny counts, i do not drink or smoke but do like to go out as a family if we can

But an able bodied person who doesn't work would have little money too but they would still have to pay for a bridge toll and other things on a day out.

If one benefits on something it's not an equal, surely?

ado

applepad wrote: »

Benefits of parking anywhere the hell you like?

Unfortunately some blue badge holders think that having a badge allows carte blanche and allows them to park wherever they like and damn the consequences. I've seen BB holders park next to junctions or opposite junctions, and on bends. I wish that the minority who abuse the system in this way would display a little more common sense and make life easier for other road users.

Having said that there are plenty of able bodied drivers who also remove their brains when driving and cause complete chaos to all those around them.

Lum

Gilbert2 wrote: »

eg Why does crossing a bridge for free work out as an equality to an able bodied person who, errrm, pays?:(

The able bodied person would be able to avoid the bridge fees by using a bus, coach, train or motorbike, a disabled person is unlikely to have this option.

The train is a particularly fun example. They do, allegedly, accommodate wheelchair users on trains, sort of, they only allow them up to a certain size, one that excludes most powerchairs. You have to call them a week in advance to arrange someone to be there with a ramp to get you up onto the train and see if they will actually allow it (only one wheelchair user per carriage so you may be refused) and frequently when you arrive at the station that person doesn't bother to turn up and you can't board. This is not a sustainable option if you want to use the train for commuting.

Even if you're not a wheelchair user, but simply have a condition that limits your ability to stand and/or walk, public transport isn't an option as even if you reserve a seat there's no guarantee that you will actually get it. When a train is cancelled and everyone boards the next one, seat reservations go out of the window, and good look persuading someone to move and let you sit down unless you have some obvious disability such as a missing leg.

DaveF327

applepad wrote: »

Apart from being able to park in a disabled bay and no parking costs in some car parks, are there any other benefits?

You may park on yellow lines for a limited time providing there are no loading restrictions in force at that time. Of course, common sense must be used and you must not park obstructively.

Regarding car parks, always check the signs as you are not always exempt from payment. You get a concession by being able to park in the big disabled bays closer to building entrances, but that's about it. You may still have to pay, and private car parks managed by private companies won't show any mercy as long as they see the pound signs.

1886

applepad wrote: »

Going to pick up my blue badge tomorrow.
Apart from being able to park in a disabled bay and no parking costs in some car parks, are there any other benefits?

Though I might be able to get a free bus pass, but just rung council and u have to get DLA, still waiting to hear about that.

One of the benefits, to you, not others is that where there are double yellow lines at a junction, you can park on those. When a car wants to pull out of the junction they won't be able to see if anything is coming but that's not important

Lum

The post above is not true. Even with a BB it's still illegal to park that close to a junction.

Other double yellows are ok, subject to loading restrictions and not being in certain parts of London, but not the ones on junctions.

ado

Lum wrote: »

The post above is not true. Even with a BB it's still illegal to park that close to a junction.

Other double yellows are ok, subject to loading restrictions and not being in certain parts of London, but not the ones on junctions.

I think 1886 was being sarcastic as some BB holders are not very sensible when they use the badge and think that they can literally park anywhere they like including in dangerous positions. I have seen both of the above examples on a number of occasions.

NeverEnough

Deleted_User wrote: »

Benefits of parking anywhere the hell you like?

I've just come out the dental hospital this afternoon, car park full as always. This great big Nissan is parked full on the pavement with their blue badge folder laid out on the dash. It's always a blue badge in situations like this.

Not true. There is a booklet with the badge which explains where you can park. The pavement is not one of those places.
It certainly does help when visiting shows and similar events, though - you usually get parking closer to the entrance and can park on yellow lines for up to 3 hours provided you are not obstructing traffic or parked too close to a corner / junction or marked pedestrian crossing.

Lum

Deleted_User wrote: »

I've just come out the dental hospital this afternoon, car park full as always. This great big Nissan is parked full on the pavement with their blue badge folder laid out on the dash. It's always a blue badge in situations like this.

Out of interest, how many of the disabled parking bays were full, presumably all of them, and how many of the people in the disabled bays actually had BB users in them?

Something like that is usually an act of desperation. Hospitals love to cancel appointments and put you to the back of the six month queue if you turn up 10 minutes late, and are not sympathetic to the fact that you couldn't park because all the accessible bays are taken up by lazy able bodied people who are capable of parking further away and walking.

If you're faced with having your treatment delayed for six months, or in the case of private treatment, being hit with a huge fee, then the risk of a fine for parking on the pavement is often the least worst option.


In the case of my partner we avoid this situation because my workplace are good enough to give me time off for carer duties, so anything involving hospitals or similar then I do the driving and if need be we'll unload in the middle of the car park and then I'll go park in a normal spot. Not every disabled person has this option available to them however.