Blue Badges becoming useless?

matrix11001

Not just that some councils like Plymouth are charging for parking in previously free parking areas. Disabled are always easy targets for governments and their Tory councils to squeeze money from!

[Deleted User]

matrix11001 wrote: »

Not just that some councils like Plymouth are charging for parking in previously free parking areas. Disabled are always easy targets for governments and their Tory councils to squeeze money from!

Any reason why disabled people shouldn't pay for parking? We get DLA to cover extra costs and the blue badge is about providing accessible places not free parking.

Enterprise_1701C

I always thought blue badges were for convenient parking rather than free parking. With the free parking came fraud in that people either stole blue badges or forged them. And there has been prosecutions for people wrongly using their relative's blue badge.

If people are wrongly using disabled spaces at a gym, then get that gym to have a word, take pictures of the cars in the spaces and email the gym the picture.

What annoys me, and this will annoy a lot of blue badge holders, is the "entitlement" attitude that a lot of blue badge holders have. The blue badge is to give you a space that is convenient and gives you room to get out of and into the car. It does not mean you can park in front of our neighbours driveway and nip to the shop, thereby preventing our neighbour from getting the car out of the drive to go and get the kids from school. It does not mean you have more of a right to parent and child spaces than parents with young children do, thereby leaving a vacant disabled space that parents cannot use, and it does not mean you get free parking - why should you, everyone needs to get out to do the shopping, if you were so broke you could not afford the parking then what are you doing paying for fuel to go out? Especially as these days most things can be bought online.

lisyloo

it does not mean you get free parking - why should you,

I agree. We go free across the Severn bridge as we usually have a blue badge holder in the car, but if we are visiting relatives who don't live in the center of town then there is no way an able-bodied person has any alternative especially on a Sunday. Don't understand why it's free if able-bodied people mostly don't have another option to get to wales. I guess it's for political correctness.
The bllur badge holders in our family got a lot of benefits for being disabled (£83 attendance allowance, plus carers allowance EACH) so were actually better off. They did have to pay for a lot of assistance but nevertheless were better off getting about £600 per week in benefits (pensions credit, attendance, carers, caoucnil tax benefit).

Danday

Thanks, just a quickie. I parked up in the John Lewis car park in one of the disabled bays with only the one left. Anyhow the driver of the car next to me with his wife came back as I was locking up and what seemed to be his mobile phone had the car start up and reverse itself out so that they could get in it with ease. I was amazed to see this.

Enterprise_1701C

Danday wrote: »

Thanks, just a quickie. I parked up in the John Lewis car park in one of the disabled bays with only the one left. Anyhow the driver of the car next to me with his wife came back as I was locking up and what seemed to be his mobile phone had the car start up and reverse itself out so that they could get in it with ease. I was amazed to see this.

Was it a mercedes?

Ames

_shel wrote: »

Any reason why disabled people shouldn't pay for parking? We get DLA to cover extra costs and the blue badge is about providing accessible places not free parking.

Perhaps a reduced rate would be fairest, to take into account that a disabled person will probably take a lot longer to do the same errands a a non disabled person.

Danday

No I don't think so it had a funny shaped badge like a letter T certainly not a star shape.
There just found it, a tesla whatever that is.

Danday

Not in my opinion, have you not seen these mobility scooters that supermarkets have for their customers. The speed up and down the aisles and are finished before most able bodied people are. On top of that surely three hours is plenty long enough anyhow. I know that after one hour I am ready to go home. Where I live most council run car parks charge full price even though you have a blue badge. You just get the option of a wider space. Only those that have cars that are registered in the disabled class get free parking for up to three hours.

Danday

Thanks Neil,

This is the link.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/pip/help-with-your-claim/help-with-your-pip-review-form/

Under no change they advise no need for evidence, you should carry on with a new award as before.
If there is a change, at the bottom of the page it says not to send any evidence in that is more than 24 months old.