Blue Badges becoming useless?

longleggedhair

A relative I take out has had a badge for many years, however I am increasingly finding it pointless as wherever we go all of the bay's are full, is seems more pronounced over the last couple of years.

The badge is still handy for parking on double yellows & for the free parking, however the main need is to get the person close to the building we are visiting, this is becoming increasingly difficult. I wonder if others are finding the same?

unforeseen

What is wrong with dropping her off at the building and then parking somewhere else?

poppy12345

I very rarely have a problem with disabled bays. Good advice there from unforeseen.

mrcol1000

I agree with the OP. I think that people get a blue badge and don't really think about others. Some people have good and bad days. Why not on your good day leave the blue badge bay for someone who may need it more than you? Or if there is a space that is suitable and not a blue badge one, why not take that one?

As for dropping off, that is great if you can leave the disabled person. Not all disabled people can wait somewhere on their own while their carer finds a space.

Also have you ever tried to block a road to unload a wheelchair and get a wheelchair user into it? It does not make you popular.

Dandytf

I am a blue badge holder.
I think for past few years traffic has increased significantly via uk roads/parking spaces.
A little patience is sometimes required, even if it means leaving and arriving early and driving continuously around hospital car park until someone is returning to their car by foot-to drive away and leave a space.
Not easy though achievable if there is plenty of time available.

pjran

I really appreciate my blue badge however it can become difficult to park nowadays near certain areas but that’s potluck. No one can reserve a parking bay especially a disabled space which we all understand. I recently drove to my local supermarket and no blue badge bays available so drove home, I’m not an angry person :A

chokolat2

Also , the amount of people parking in disabled bays without a blue badge at all ��

unforeseen

But you can have disabilities that require reasonable adjustments such as a wider bay aka a disabled bay but doesn't qualify you for a blue badge..

poppy12345

mrcol1000 wrote: »

I agree with the OP. I think that people get a blue badge and don't really think about others. Some people have good and bad days. Why not on your good day leave the blue badge bay for someone who may need it more than you? Or if there is a space that is suitable and not a blue badge one, why not take that one?

As for dropping off, that is great if you can leave the disabled person. Not all disabled people can wait somewhere on their own while their carer finds a space.

Also have you ever tried to block a road to unload a wheelchair and get a wheelchair user into it? It does not make you popular.

That's complete nonsense. I have a Blue badge because i'm entitled to it. Why should i use another space when i have my badge. I've never heard of anything so ridiculous.

eddyinfreehold

I take my daughter, a 20 yo wheelchair user to the gym once a week. It has an enormous car park and about 20 wide disabled spaces at the front near the door. The ordinary spaces are not wide enough to unfold the wheelchair and assist my daughter into it. The entire row of disabled spaces is usually taken up when I arrive, all Chelsea tractors driven by perfectly healthy young mums taking their kids for swimming lessons. They spend the time waiting in their cars chatting, texting and doing makeup. I block one or two off when it's time to go, pointedly loading up the wheelchair after lifting my daughter into the car. They don't bat an eyelid, we're invisible.

GlasweJen

eddyinfreehold wrote: »

I take my daughter, a 20 yo wheelchair user to the gym once a week. It has an enormous car park and about 20 wide disabled spaces at the front near the door. The ordinary spaces are not wide enough to unfold the wheelchair and assist my daughter into it. The entire row of disabled spaces is usually taken up when I arrive, all Chelsea tractors driven by perfectly healthy young mums taking their kids for swimming lessons. They spend the time waiting in their cars chatting, texting and doing makeup. I block one or two off when it's time to go, pointedly loading up the wheelchair after lifting my daughter into the car. They don't bat an eyelid, we're invisible.

We do this at the supermarket, block in anyone without a badge and unpack me and the chair, the dog, the shopping bags, my collosall handbag etc. Park us up inside the door, husband goes back to the car and moves back to the “less accessible spaces”. Usually by this point the tannoy is ringing out with “will the owners of cars registrations ...... please contact the customer service desk” as our car park is all straight rows so we are causing a back up onto the main road.

Need to do the same at the end of the shop but by then it’s me, the chair, the dog, the hand bag, the shopping, the stressed out the husband, sometimes the Scottish ambulance service and soon to be the portable oxygen tank.