Blue Badge Use Question

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ChangesAhead
ChangesAhead Posts: 6 Forumite
in Disability money matters
If you are dropping off a passenger who has a blue badge outside a medical place and then park up elsewhere some distance away using their badge, before returning to pick them up when there appointment is over. Is this allowed?


It was a question I wondered earlier today. I couldn't park outside the medical premises where I dropped them on, no on street parking left, so I had to park elsewhere and paid for two hours of parking, when I did wonder if I could have parked in a disabled bay free since the car was solely being used for the passengers benefit. There was no way the disabled badge holder could have walked to and from where the car was parked.
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  • Browntoa
    Browntoa Posts: 49,302 Forumite
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    Yes , although you could get challenged to prove it on very rare occasions
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  • mrcol1000
    mrcol1000 Posts: 4,791 Forumite
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    I wouldn't worry about it. When they stop the widespread abuse of disabled parking spaces and blue badges then maybe we can think about the rights and wrongs of your case.
  • john240870
    john240870 Posts: 145 Forumite
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    I would say no you can't drop someone off then drive off and park using there blue badge once the BB holder has left the car the BB can't be used.
  • poppy12345
    poppy12345 Posts: 17,964 Forumite
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    I also say no, you can't do this. Reason being is the disabled person is no longer in the car with you.
  • Alter_ego
    Alter_ego Posts: 3,842 Forumite
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    poppy12345 wrote: »
    I also say no, you can't do this. Reason being is the disabled person is no longer in the car with you.

    So do you think that applies if you stop outside a hospital door (public road) and drop off, then drive a few meters to park? Lets say 50m.
    I am not a cat (But my friend is)
  • unforeseen
    unforeseen Posts: 7,284 Forumite
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    edited 8 January 2018 at 8:47PM
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    When the person comes out will they walk to the car or will you bring it to the door? If they walk to the car then yes, otherwise no.
    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-blue-badge-scheme-rights-and-responsibilities-in-england/the-blue-badge-scheme-rights-and-responsibilities-in-england

    Para 2 opening sentence.
  • tomtom256
    tomtom256 Posts: 2,218 Forumite
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    Alter_ego wrote: »
    So do you think that applies if you stop outside a hospital door (public road) and drop off, then drive a few meters to park? Lets say 50m.

    Yes, unless the blue badge holder is then going to walk back to the car in the disabled space, which if so why not just park in it in the first place.

    What about wheelchair users that may need that space?
  • kingfisherblue
    kingfisherblue Posts: 9,203 Forumite
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    ChangesAhead wrote: »
    If you are dropping off a passenger who has a blue badge outside a medical place and then park up elsewhere some distance away using their badge, before returning to pick them up when there appointment is over. Is this allowed?


    It was a question I wondered earlier today. I couldn't park outside the medical premises where I dropped them on, no on street parking left, so I had to park elsewhere and paid for two hours of parking, when I did wonder if I could have parked in a disabled bay free since the car was solely being used for the passengers benefit. There was no way the disabled badge holder could have walked to and from where the car was parked.

    If you are dropping them off and picking them up, so the person does not need to walk to or from a parking space, then you should not use a disabled bay. If, however, the Blue Badge holder is going to walk back to the parking space, then yes, you could park there - but why not park there in the first place?
  • easy
    easy Posts: 2,516 Forumite
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    I would make another comment tho'

    UNLESS --
    you will have to leave the disabled person unsupervised for an unreasonable amount of time to find a parking space and walk back.

    I remember once my hubby dropping me off for an appointment and driving away to find a parking space (the nearby blue badge spaces were occupied). He drove around the block 3 times to find a regular space, eventually parked on a yellow line using my blue badge to come back to me, by which time I had been leaning against a wall in a cold drafty corridor for over 20 mins. I was freezing and in quite a lot of pain by the time he got back to me. There were no chairs, and no one to help me down the long corridor to my appointment.

    Obviously we had no idea when he left me it would be so difficult to park, but sometimes one has to be pragmatic.
    I try not to get too stressed out on the forum. I won't argue, i'll just leave a thread if you don't like what I say. :)
  • BobQ
    BobQ Posts: 11,181 Forumite
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    edited 23 January 2018 at 12:03AM
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    tomtom256 wrote: »
    Yes, unless the blue badge holder is then going to walk back to the car in the disabled space, which if so why not just park in it in the first place.

    What about wheelchair users that may need that space?

    I no longer transport a disabled person in my car but when I did I often had this problem and was not sure of the rights and wrongs.

    A variation on the OP's scenario I can recall is parking on yellow lines to disembark the individual and a wheel chair. He liked to walk as far as he could, pausing as necessary before using the wheelchair. He might then have another walk when I had pushed the chair further. Often we would reach another road and I would leave him sitting in the wheelchair while I returned to the car and drove to pick him up. As far as I was concerned I did nothing wrong.

    I was once challenged by some aggressive member of the public and I said I had no wish to discuss the matter but that if he wanted to note the name on the badge he could contact the Council.

    But I could see it from his viewpoint that all he saw was a fit person getting into a car with a blue badge that was not his.
    Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are incapable of forming such opinions.
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