what annoys me is im a parent with a young child and in normals bays i cant get him out of the car without hitting door on someones car in supermarkets and some shopping centres there are designated parent and toddler and disabled bays but it drives me mad when a bb holder parks in a parent and child and dont get a ticket but if i was to park in a disabled bay i would get one ive got nothing against the disabled or bb holder my mum is diabled and holds a bb it just seems unfair when there more diabled bays than parent and child
It annoys me that they're even called "parent and child" spaces - they should be called "parent and toddler" - I've seen too many older parents with very "fit" 17 year old children using them!
There are far more disabled people than families with one or more toddlers so it's natural to provide more spaces for Blue Badge holders.
The situation would be a lot better for everyone if supermarket spaces were wider - to reflect the fact that modern cars are much wider than those current just after WW2 when the planning standards were defined.
There are far more disabled people than families with one or more toddlers so it's natural to provide more spaces for Blue Badge holders.
The situation would be a lot better for everyone if supermarket spaces were wider - to reflect the fact that modern cars are much wider than those current just after WW2 when the planning standards were defined.
that bugs me aswell ive got an xtrail my youngest is 4 and still in a child seat if hes with me ill use parent and child if my eldest who 10 is with me i dont thats true all parking bays should be made wider there wouldnt be so many door dents
I don't understand?Dustydog said:If that's true Roger thenthe UK may be beter off going for the Euro
Children are only toddlers for a small proportion of their life - disability is for the rest of life because part of the criteria is "permanent".
If your point was about economics, there are many disabled and mobility-impaired people who contribute substantially to the UK economy - the numbers on DLA is only a subset of those with Blue Badges.
In Newcastle u Lyme the cafe in Morrisons is overlooking the parent and child parking
There were several invisible children last week
If I misuse the Blue Badge I get caught !
A while ago there was a strike at the office for blue badges and our renewal was delayed
I had my 71 year old wife who has Parkinsons .has recently had a hip op and has ovarian cancer as well as her 82 year old sister who has dementure so risked using the 2 days out of validity blue badge in a Nantwich car park
Sure enough I got a ticket
Recently also in Nantwich I got a ticket as the badge was 1mm too low and the date was obscured by the windscreen rubber
Its good to see that the officials are on the ball and its also good to see that Crewe and Nantwich council are merciful and rescinded the ticket on both occasions
I had to write a note which my wife signed to say that she was in the vehicle as the badge holder
The Crewe office is in Pimms Lane very close to Bentley Motors and there were some new Bentleys sheeted up outside but still looking very elegant and out of reach
There were several invisible children last week
If I misuse the Blue Badge I get caught !
A while ago there was a strike at the office for blue badges and our renewal was delayed
I had my 71 year old wife who has Parkinsons .has recently had a hip op and has ovarian cancer as well as her 82 year old sister who has dementure so risked using the 2 days out of validity blue badge in a Nantwich car park
Sure enough I got a ticket
Recently also in Nantwich I got a ticket as the badge was 1mm too low and the date was obscured by the windscreen rubber
Its good to see that the officials are on the ball and its also good to see that Crewe and Nantwich council are merciful and rescinded the ticket on both occasions
I had to write a note which my wife signed to say that she was in the vehicle as the badge holder
The Crewe office is in Pimms Lane very close to Bentley Motors and there were some new Bentleys sheeted up outside but still looking very elegant and out of reach
Morning RogerRogerL said:I don't understand?Dustydog said:If that's true Roger thenthe UK may be beter off going for the Euro
Children are only toddlers for a small proportion of their life - disability is for the rest of life because part of the criteria is "permanent".
If your point was about economics, there are many disabled and mobility-impaired people who contribute substantially to the UK economy - the numbers on DLA is only a subset of those with Blue Badges.
I did previously say that some 40 years ago you hardly ever saw disabled people. Now we seem inundated with them. Similarly at school I cannot recall one child with asthma, not they are tow a penny. What has happened to us Human Beings?
My reference to the Euro is only for England in the hope , for once the EU may be wiling to give a grant to fund the disabled requirements ie more Blue Badge parking spaces.
The problem is you DON'T get a ticket for parking in a disabled space on a supermarket parking lot!coachman amara said:
We regularly see a Nissan primera in and around our local town parked in Handicapped bays, displaying a legitimate BB. No problem, except that it's the driver who holds the BB, and he never leaves the car! His spritely partner jumps out and does the shopping.Perfectly legal, but so selfish.
That's not legal on public highway - it's in the small print of terms and conditions attached to a Blue Badge - police officers, CPSOs, traffic wardens and Civil Enforcement Officers can and do issue fixed penalty fines if they see that happening.emmerson said:
Well I'm well confused and I don't have one these badges!RogerL said:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/disabledpeople/motoringandtransport/dg_4001061
Says amongst other things:-
"It is not illegal to remain in the vehicle with the badge displayed if you are a Blue Badge holder or waiting for the Blue Badge holder to return. However, you should consider using a car park whenever possible."
There's a specific requirement that "The trip must be for your benefit only and you must be using the vehicle".Dustydog said:
I guess that may be interpreted in court in different ways.
Damian
Moderator
I would think that a shopping trip would be seen as being "of benefit" to the BB holder, despite th emore able bodied person actually doing the shopping.
Having recently qualified for a blue badge (march 2011), I have noticed a few flaws in not only the application form but also the usage of the badges.
I will say from the get go. I am not having a go at anyone who is genuinely disabled as I have two relatives who are definately disabled and in need of assistance. My niece for instance was diagnosed as having had a stroke while in her mums woomb which left her very weak down one side. I actively encouraged her to learn to drive an adapted automatic car and pass her test. She has never looked back on that and is proud of her independance.
I on the other hand, have been fully mobile and a self motivated self employed bloke for 35 years before being slowly robbed of my ability to do even the simplest of tasks now like putting my own socks on as I can not touch my toes without excrutiating pains in my back. It's been caused by years of double shifting at work and exasibated by being knocked off my push bike by a hit and run driver, while riding to work at 5-30am one day 3 years ago.
Firstly the badges are issued every 3 years and not assessed annually or on renewal. So long as you tick the permanent disability question (yes) you're in the club.
Secondly as already said. There has been no policing of they useage by either the councils that issue them or traffic wardens or police officers.
When I got my badge, it came with a hand book telling you how and who can use your badge.
The application form for instance does not take into account any temporary disabilities and specifically excludes knee and hip joint replacement patients on a waiting list which could well span more than 3 years from list to operation to recovery. My wife is in that catagory and is in daily pain and dibilitation while waiting to be old enough for a knee replacement.
The badge when applied for is linked to the registration of the vehicle you drive at that time, but there is no requirement for you to notify a change of vehicle which is stupid. IMO, the badge should have the car reg number on the front of the badge for a start. Then if the badge holder is not a driver (which can be the case) the number should be that of the main helper. Again the rules do state that if for instance my daughter uses my badge to park her car in a disabled bay then I have to be present. But not necessarily away from the vehicle.
So there's another loophole to fill in.
I frequently see people abusing the system. The most common being relatives doing shopping for disabled mum, dad or child while the relative is perfectly fit and able. And while the badge holder is not present at all.
Supermarket car parks & privately cctv controlled carparks are a real joke. Every body and their auntie park where they fancey because it isn't the highway and even in sleepy Leominster, 4 out of 10 cars in the disabled bays in the supermarket doesn't display a badge.
The German owned supermarket is even more comical. They use a well known cctv carpark scheme that monitors car reg's and issues automatic tickets for over stay and returning before 4 hours has elapsed. Over christmas, I noticed that only me and one other car were displaying badges out of the 10 spaces occupied. I spoke to a member of the management about it and was told that the spaces were for those who have difficulty walking and not just for BB holders. But Parking I's board did state BB holders only.
So even with the new badge, the genuine disabled are still having to proove to un-qualified council clerks that they have a disability, while the couldn't give a **** abusers get away with it.
In my case when I want to park in a carpark, I first look for an end of row normal space before opting for a blue badge bay, because so long as I can open my car door fully to get out I'm ok. Well sort of if you count wearing out the rubber gripper on the bottom of my walking stick twice a month,he pressure I put on it for support. I would rather hope that the space I have left in the BB bay by doing that, would of use to someone less fortunate than me.
Now I'll gently get off my hobby horse and limp into the corner, to sort out my 25 pils a day I take for the pain, high blood pressure (can't think why I've got that ! ), High trigylcerides and cholesterol and asthma.
All the best Steve L.
I will say from the get go. I am not having a go at anyone who is genuinely disabled as I have two relatives who are definately disabled and in need of assistance. My niece for instance was diagnosed as having had a stroke while in her mums woomb which left her very weak down one side. I actively encouraged her to learn to drive an adapted automatic car and pass her test. She has never looked back on that and is proud of her independance.
I on the other hand, have been fully mobile and a self motivated self employed bloke for 35 years before being slowly robbed of my ability to do even the simplest of tasks now like putting my own socks on as I can not touch my toes without excrutiating pains in my back. It's been caused by years of double shifting at work and exasibated by being knocked off my push bike by a hit and run driver, while riding to work at 5-30am one day 3 years ago.
Firstly the badges are issued every 3 years and not assessed annually or on renewal. So long as you tick the permanent disability question (yes) you're in the club.
Secondly as already said. There has been no policing of they useage by either the councils that issue them or traffic wardens or police officers.
When I got my badge, it came with a hand book telling you how and who can use your badge.
The application form for instance does not take into account any temporary disabilities and specifically excludes knee and hip joint replacement patients on a waiting list which could well span more than 3 years from list to operation to recovery. My wife is in that catagory and is in daily pain and dibilitation while waiting to be old enough for a knee replacement.
The badge when applied for is linked to the registration of the vehicle you drive at that time, but there is no requirement for you to notify a change of vehicle which is stupid. IMO, the badge should have the car reg number on the front of the badge for a start. Then if the badge holder is not a driver (which can be the case) the number should be that of the main helper. Again the rules do state that if for instance my daughter uses my badge to park her car in a disabled bay then I have to be present. But not necessarily away from the vehicle.
So there's another loophole to fill in.
I frequently see people abusing the system. The most common being relatives doing shopping for disabled mum, dad or child while the relative is perfectly fit and able. And while the badge holder is not present at all.
Supermarket car parks & privately cctv controlled carparks are a real joke. Every body and their auntie park where they fancey because it isn't the highway and even in sleepy Leominster, 4 out of 10 cars in the disabled bays in the supermarket doesn't display a badge.
The German owned supermarket is even more comical. They use a well known cctv carpark scheme that monitors car reg's and issues automatic tickets for over stay and returning before 4 hours has elapsed. Over christmas, I noticed that only me and one other car were displaying badges out of the 10 spaces occupied. I spoke to a member of the management about it and was told that the spaces were for those who have difficulty walking and not just for BB holders. But Parking I's board did state BB holders only.
So even with the new badge, the genuine disabled are still having to proove to un-qualified council clerks that they have a disability, while the couldn't give a **** abusers get away with it.
In my case when I want to park in a carpark, I first look for an end of row normal space before opting for a blue badge bay, because so long as I can open my car door fully to get out I'm ok. Well sort of if you count wearing out the rubber gripper on the bottom of my walking stick twice a month,he pressure I put on it for support. I would rather hope that the space I have left in the BB bay by doing that, would of use to someone less fortunate than me.
Now I'll gently get off my hobby horse and limp into the corner, to sort out my 25 pils a day I take for the pain, high blood pressure (can't think why I've got that ! ), High trigylcerides and cholesterol and asthma.
All the best Steve L.
Sorry to hear all that Steve.
Have you thought about a higher car like a 4x4 to help getting in and out?
Anyway I do hope you get Viagra amongst your 25 pills. We all need to keep a stiff upper lip in these hard times
Have you thought about a higher car like a 4x4 to help getting in and out?
Anyway I do hope you get Viagra amongst your 25 pills. We all need to keep a stiff upper lip in these hard times
Some of the modern "crossover SUVs" are also suitable with slightly raised ground clearance and a raised seated position compared to ordinary cars. Full-size 4x4s can be too high and side steps don't always help - it obviously depends on the nature of the mobility issue.Dustydog said:
The point about temporary medium-term mobility issues is well made and the Coalition government have undertaken to review this aspect of Blue Badge issue.
I have major reservations about the assessment "methods" used in this latest crackdown - if the panels are made up of civil servants rather that healthcare professionals they won't be able to pronounce half the conditions people suffer from, let alone understand them.
Steve's comment about the registration being on the blue badge would for example be no good in our case. As none of us are disabled, but 95 year old mother in law is. She is the badge holder, but either son or daughter use it in different cars, when they take her into the bank etc. It is the blue badge older that is disabled, not the car!
The registration of a vehicle number against a Blue Badge is pointless - it's valid in ANY vehicle that the holder travels in - I've no idea why they even ask for that information.
The so called crack down on blue badge misuse will I have no doubt be another exercise that will result in no changes whatsoever, in my opinion there are many many people who have these badges who have applied for them, sticking to the rules as they are interpreted but are no more disabled than I am, it's a crackdown on who gets the BB in the first place that needs to happen, if the people who deserve them were the ones who got them in the first place then there wouldn't be so many circulating to be misused by able bodied people, I've no objection to someone who genuinely deserves one being issued with it I do however think like everything in the benefit society we live in its seen more as a right if your claiming benefits as opposed to a real need in a large proportion of cases, make parking spaces wider and do away with the scheme altogether would also work, as you may guess from my post I am not the most tolerant of people when it comes to benefit fraud of any sort and I could go on for ever about how I would slash millions from what's paid out in the form of benefits.
Although I have only recently qualified for a badge, I too get very hot under the collar at blatent abuse of the BB scheme. The most obvious to me is those badge holders who don't have a car. Before anyone start's, my mother-in-law is one example. She has to rely on family to take her shopping etc. Now while she abides be the rules and actually only uses her badge if she is present. I regularly see many able bodied folks "borrowing" the badge to do shopping for the BB holder but not actually having the holder present within the people with the car. (carefully worded so as to not offend young or old BB holders).
In reply to Dusty. I chose my rover because of the heated electrically adjustable memory seat. (what a mouthfull). A 4X4 does offer higher access but is not realy necessary. In my case my electric seat allows me to get lift height to get upright easier and at the same time it can be driven low and back as far as poss to allow me to lift my right leg in. I get too much pain if I don't lift it by hand.
Now some of you will wonder how the hell I can drive a manual car if my right leg is dicky! Well simply once I'm seated correctly I can do all the normal movements including an emergencey stop from 60Mph.
Most genuine BB holders have for years managed with their own enginuity to accomplish tasks before giving in to the help of a BB.
I have for years managed with magnetic mechanics pick up tools and spring grabbers rather than ask people to pick things up off the lower shelves in shops. You see, I'm at my lowest pain when stood upright or lay flat.
In reply to Dusty. I chose my rover because of the heated electrically adjustable memory seat. (what a mouthfull). A 4X4 does offer higher access but is not realy necessary. In my case my electric seat allows me to get lift height to get upright easier and at the same time it can be driven low and back as far as poss to allow me to lift my right leg in. I get too much pain if I don't lift it by hand.
Now some of you will wonder how the hell I can drive a manual car if my right leg is dicky! Well simply once I'm seated correctly I can do all the normal movements including an emergencey stop from 60Mph.
Most genuine BB holders have for years managed with their own enginuity to accomplish tasks before giving in to the help of a BB.
I have for years managed with magnetic mechanics pick up tools and spring grabbers rather than ask people to pick things up off the lower shelves in shops. You see, I'm at my lowest pain when stood upright or lay flat.
I go to a cardiac rehab gym and a guy there in his mid 60's was recently grumbling quite seriously he couldn't get a blue badge. As well as having a work-out each week at the gym he also plays golf at least twice a week !!
JohnM
JohnM
As the person in question didn't get a blue badge, I fail to see how he brings anything into disrepute.
Steve W
Steve W
At the doctor"s there are two parking bays i parked in one the other day and when i came back some one had park in the space in the middle that is a path so i had to go back in to report it and the person could not be found he had left the car and gone to the shops near by this is a total disgrace .
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