Disabled Parking Bays in Supermarket car parks

LawSS01

Hi everyone,

I've been fighting an ongoing battle with the supermarkets over the last 2-3 years over people parking in the disabled bays within their car parks without blue badges. I have mainly had issue with my local Co-op over this emailing them back and forth around the abuse of such bays. I have also pestered Horizon Parking to the point where they did send someone out over the course of 3-4 days to issue fines but that stopped very quickly. I appreciate this forum is to mainly fight against parking fines and what you can do to get around them, but, this abuse of disabled parking bays is extremely unfair in my opinion. Much of the feedback from Co-op and Sainsburys has been that they rely on the morality of shoppers to park in the correct bays, and, if I see someone abusing them then I should approach that person myself. They have even suggested in small stores that the security guard approach them to ask them to move their vehicle.

Do anyone have any thoughts or comments on this?

Ps, apologies if this post is either in the incorrect place or shouldn't have been posted here at all.

Thank you

Umkomaas

A blue badge isn't the only indicator of disability. The Equality Act 2010 requires service providers to make reasonable adjustments for anyone with protected characteristics as defined by the Act.

Now while I accept that there are many abusers of disabled bays (and we get some here trying to wriggle out of their ticket - they get short shrift), supermarkets and the like cannot restrict disabled bays to blue badge holders only, because if they ticket someone with protected characteristics, but a non-blue badge holder, they risk a serious court case against them where the minimum compensatory sum is £500, and a lot more potentially.

I'm afraid they are between the devil and the deep blue [STRIKE]badge[/STRIKE] sea.

Snakes_Belly

I have noticed that some people park in disabled bays when they use the cash machines. I think that this is because they think that as they will only take a couple of minutes that it does not matter. The cash machines are near the disabled bays at my nearest supermarket.

I did once ask a supermarket if I could use a disabled bay after an accident when I was in plaster and on crutches and they said that it would be OK. You cannot get a temporary disabled badge.

Redx

some private busybody tried it not long ago when Paddy McGuinness parked up in a disable bay (note- not blue badge bay, although its for people with blue badges but also thosE who qualify under the EA2010 where the badge isnt mentioned , but protected characteristics are) , the bay did have the disabled markings , and the busybody clearly thought that as neither Paddy or his wife are disabled that they were exploiting the celebrity status of Paddy

Paddy gave this busybodu short shrift, because the people protected were his children , not him, so he had every right to use their protections in law as a parent

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-50289637

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/tv/christine-mcguinness-autism-parking-row-17201370

so for starters, nobody other than social services or the police etc have the powers to inspect a BB nor question the driver or passengers, certainly not a private individual , nor a security guard , nor any jobsworth either

I accept that maybe there should be a better moniroring system in place, but then it defeats the object of the EA2010 if those with protected characteristics are hounded or questioned, especially by people with no legal right to do so

my mum had a protected characteristic, so had a blue badge, yet was never a driver, so me and my family used to take her to appointments etc, ignoring any dirty looks just because she looked "alright" , as did the able bodied family members

I have had a BB since they were orange, yet its an internal issue, the rules recently changed to allow people with hidden problems to obtain a BB , which will lead to more of them being subjected to moral bullying by people who dont know the facts


https://www.gov.uk/government/news/review-of-blue-badge-fraud-as-scheme-is-extended-to-those-with-hidden-disabilities

Minister for Disabled People Justin Tomlinson said:
It’s unacceptable that people with hidden disabilities still face discrimination when using disabled facilities like parking spaces.

I agree its a difficult subject, but leave it to the one with the actual authority to check, never assume that the driver must look like a paraplegic to be able to use the disabled bay , the driver could be able bodied and the passenger elderly , a child , or whatever

my friends daughter had a physically handicapped child who had a BB and a motability vehicle from the age of 5, obviuously the child was never the driver, so she used to get comments made which were disgusting when she waited for her child near a nursery or at hospital etc


on a side note , neither Horizon nor any other private parking company can actuallly issue a "fine" !!

fisherjim

In addition to the above Blue Badges have no lawful significance on private land, and if you read the booklet that comes with it it states that.


A Blue Badge will help you to park close to your destination, either as a passenger or driver.
The badge is intended for on-street parking only.
Off-street car parks, such as those provided by shopping centres, hospitals or supermarkets are covered by separate rules.

Le_Kirk

I'm afraid they are between the devil and the deep blue [strike]badge[/strike] sea

On form today Umkomaas!

Umkomaas

Le_Kirk wrote: »

On form today Umkomaas!

Wizz-wired!

Coupon-mad

this abuse of disabled parking bays is extremely unfair in my opinion.

I would agree, but IMHO you are directing your anger against the wrong people and I cannot STAND it when people assume a person is not 'disabled' due to how they look or because they have no Blue Badge on private land!

If you want a generalisation, here's mine. You usually get old blokes in hats driving stupidly large cars, who think they are the ones with a God-given right to a Blue Badge and who look at younger people, or able bodied people who are legitimately parking there to collect disabled people, and jump to knee-jerk conclusions and start ranting about something they just do not understand.

Those people really annoy me!

A lack of a Blue Badge is no indicator of not having a disability or that the person who parked has no legal right to a reasonable adjustment of using that provision.

Conversely, of all those drivers of cars you are 'satisfied' are showing Blue Badges, how do you know they are the person entitled to use that Badge? I personally know someone who used to use her old Mum's Badge and would not be told to stop. I tried. She never listened and never got caught. THAT is Blue Badge abuse.

Real abuse is the fraud of the people who misuse their dead Grandma's badge.

So the cars you are happy with, include the real abusers.

The ones you are unhappy with, are IMHO the wrong people to direct your anger at.

Not showing a blue badge is NOT (necessarily) disabled bay abuse. Your anger is understandable, but IMHO wrongly directed. It is pointless and unfair to assume that these people are not entitled to park there and you may well be wrong.

To make a fuss with the retailer is just feeding the trolls under the bridge (the PPCs) who love to pretend that they are the answer to blue badge abuse, when in fact the opposite is true. PPCs abuse disabled people's rights.

Fruitcake

There are many reasons why someone might legitimately park in a disabled bay on private land but not have or show a blue badge.
You could be discriminating against genuinely disabled people by assuming such motorists are abusing the disabled bays.

As already mentioned, some people abuse the BB scheme by using one when they are not entitled to.
Other people legitimately use a disabled bay but get vilified for not showing a badge.

It is not your job to police these bays, and you could get yourself into a lot of trouble with the law if you try.

The_Deep

I've been fighting an ongoing battle with the supermarkets over the last 2-3 years over people parking in the disabled bays within their car parks without blue badges.

Stop your campaign immediately.

Why? Not all disabled people have BBs, have you not read EA 2010?. These parking companies are trying to discriminate against disabled people who have BBs.

Barny1979

LawSS01 wrote: »

Hi everyone,

I've been fighting an ongoing battle with the supermarkets over the last 2-3 years over people parking in the disabled bays within their car parks without blue badges. I have mainly had issue with my local Co-op over this emailing them back and forth around the abuse of such bays. I have also pestered Horizon Parking to the point where they did send someone out over the course of 3-4 days to issue fines but that stopped very quickly. I appreciate this forum is to mainly fight against parking fines and what you can do to get around them, but, this abuse of disabled parking bays is extremely unfair in my opinion. Much of the feedback from Co-op and Sainsburys has been that they rely on the morality of shoppers to park in the correct bays, and, if I see someone abusing them then I should approach that person myself. They have even suggested in small stores that the security guard approach them to ask them to move their vehicle.

Do anyone have any thoughts or comments on this?

Ps, apologies if this post is either in the incorrect place or shouldn't have been posted here at all.

Thank you

Do you have a Blue Badge yourself?