Blue Badge

[Baldhead]

....
Being carers for an elderly, obstinate disabled woman with signs of dementia and an apparent need to argue at every opportunity is hard work and mentally draining. She always knows best!! In the end it came down to apply for the badge or don't go out. She insists that this is all charity and she is not bad enough yet!!!!!!

Misterfish

I share your pain. Just about to set off for the miserable hobgoblin-grumping-in-the-corner aka the mother-from-Hell 90th birthday lunch. It will be moan, moan, moan, whitter, whitter, whitter. If there was an Olympic sport for Talking B*locks' then put her in the team and we'd win gold every time. Cost of the entire journey, meal, present etc nigh on £200. Any mother that says that the only reason for having children is so that they can look after you in your old age doesn't cut it, in my book. We need a cull.

Roger you want to think yourself lucky, my mother died 10 days after my father died, that was in 1986, I so wish they could have seen my family grow up but it wasn't to be. I have seen some stupid heartless comments on here before but yours takes the biscuit, I also note this is not the first time you have posted unwanted comments, you dear sir don't deserve to draw breath.

Baldhead

 

[beech1948]

RogerS,

Your recent statement re old lady is the most preposterous and stupidly uncaring statement I have ever seen. I wish you ALL that you wish for your Mum in your old age.

Added you to my enemies list and will disregard any further postings from you.

 

[doorframe]

Well, I was about to advise MrFish not to argue with idiots, as they'll only drag you down to their level then beat you with experience, but along came Roger bleating (almost) the most unbelievable b*ll*x yet seen on this forum.

Roger, think about what you have written. Do you think your own children/in-laws will think that of you? Of course they won't. And you shouldn't either. Shame on you.

 

[wizard]

When you get a blue badge you should also get an AK47 and if someone parks in a disabled space without a badge you should be allowed to take them out

 

[Phil Pascoe]

No show without Punch!

 

[NickWelford]

Chill out guys

 

[DiscoStu]

I agree about disabled spaces and people parking in them. I do have one issue which is slightly off topic, parent and child spaces. Why are they positioned so close to the store. I like a parent and child space as opening the door completely wide makes life easier with kids, but I don't need to be right on top of the supermarket entrance. Shove parent and child a decent distance away and then only those that needed the space would park in them. I own a Land Rover which is pretty wide and I was delighted to find that Sainsburys offer some extra wide spaces, these are as far away from the entrance as possible and I approve of that. I'm fed up with getting loads of tiny dents and scratches on my car from other cars. Sometimes this is down to inconsiderate owners but I think mostly it is due to small spaces.

 

[wizard]

You expect kids to walk :shock:

 

[Steve Maskery]

I agree, parking spaces are far too small. Over the years, cars have got wider, but spaces haven't. If anything they have got smaller, I reckon. Land is expensive, they have cram in as many as possible etc, etc.

Last year when I was on crutches I had great difficulty getting in and out. I needed the door open wide and wanted to walk as little as possible. I never parked in a disabled space but I did park in a P&C and was challenged. "Have you got children?". "No," says I, "Have you got a broken leg?". He moved on.

The Chinese have special parking spaces for women. They are 300mm wider than normal and painted pink. I jest not.
S

 

[Harbo]

Parking spaces have become smaller - sometimes my car (X3) can only fit in between the white lines and you can hardly open the doors.
When I worked the official standard was 2.4m x 4.8m - I keep meaning to carry a tape and measure some insitu?
There's one multi-storey in Winchester I refuse to enter as it's almost impossible to park without dinging yours or others cars!

Rod

 

[Mark-numbers]

What a thread!

Rogers post was in jest - now taken out of context I found it funny as I can relate to it except my mother in law is only 61

For what it's worth I agree that blue badge holders should use blue bad the spaces however what about those who are temporary disabled ie broken leg, sprained ankle etc, yes I know these people wouldn't be driving but surely some compassion must be shown?

 

[RogerS]

To those who would adopt a holier than thou attitude..good luck to you. More sanctimonious BS I have rarely seen, comments that make such sweeping assumptions as to be laughable. You don't know the facts. I say it as it is. If you have a nice mother than bully for you.

Oh, and Random Orbital, my mother was in Germany during the war.

 

[Benchwayze]

It might be a private car-park, but for the purposes of the Road Traffic Act, I think you'll find it is classed as a 'Road'. And as such, drivers can be legally breathalysed. So unless things have changed since I retired, I don't see how the blue-badge offence can be ignored. It sickens me to see this blue-badge scheme being misused. I can't get a blue badge, because my replacement knees 'Will eventually get better.' So Walsall Council say. The problem is they don't get better. They become quite 'usable', but no matter how good they are, mobility is never quite the same. I have to live with it, because I can walk 15 metres before cramp locks-in. Still, there's one bright moment when I go shopping. The trolley acts as a temporary 'walking frame'! :lol:

PS...
As for parking in a wider bay, I always go left, after I enter my local Asda car-park. Most others go right, so they can park nearer the store. Instead I use a parking bay that is invariably available, and is adjacent to the pedestrian walkway. This means I can open the door wider, to get out easier. I have further to walk, but then as said, I do have the 'walking-frame' that Asda provide!

 

[Phil Pascoe]

You can be breathalised, but I wonder how far the public road argument goes. How often do we read of people having hassle with insurance after a prang in a supermarket car park because someone somewhere has deemed that they are not public roads?

Incidentally, I first got my blue badge after having a toe amputated.

 

[Benchwayze]

It isn't an argument Phil. The Act is what it is. Take note or get done. :lol: :lol: :lol:

I agree with regard to Insurance matters. If there is no serious consequence after an accident, then the Police can decide to let the Insurance Companies sort it. How they argue is up to them. But after a prang, there is still the requirement (these days) for an attending officer to demand a specimen of breath; and you certainly can't get around that one. 8) In my day, it was (for a while), up to the officer whether or not to exercise the power, after an accident. I think today the initiative has been taken from the Police.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Everything I've read so far says (correctly) that supermarket carparks come under the R.T.A. but that unless it's very serious the police aren't concerned. This does not surprise me at all - the last accident I was involved in I was T boned on a roundabout, the side of the car was stoved in 18inches, and the copper told me that it wasn't worthwhile his doing anything about it as no one was hurt. I pointed out out that had I had a passenger they would be in hospital with broken legs and he just said But you didn't, did you?. I suspect anyone waiting for the police to do anything constructive in a supermarket car park has a long wait ahead.

 

[Baldhead]

The trolley acts as a temporary 'walking frame'!

As a child I often wondered why old men would walk along side their bike but never ride it, when I first suffered with my spine I found out, just as you have, only the bike is replaced with the supermarket trolley!!!

Baldhead

 

[Benchwayze]

The trolley acts as a temporary 'walking frame'!

As a child I often wondered why old men would walk along side their bike but never ride it, when I first suffered with my spine I found out, just as you have, only the bike is replaced with the supermarket trolley!!!

Baldhead

Yep BH.
The bike does make a good walking support! And I can free-wheel down the hills. Of which there are many around here.

Phil. If what you say is from experience, then we have a very different Police Force these days to the one I served in. But you know what they say. The public gets the Police Force it deserves, which is not necessarily the one they pay for. I know who to blame, but less said....

8) :-"

 

[cgarry]

From http://www.nidirect.gov.uk/misuse-of-pa ... led-people:

The Blue Badge Scheme does not apply to off-street car parks, for example supermarket car parks. However, off-street car parks may provide bays for Blue Badge holders. Please check with notices before parking.

And:

In the case of local council off-street car parks, it is normally an offence to park in a parking bay for a person with disabilities without displaying a valid Blue Badge. Drivers who misuse such spaces may also have to pay an 'excess charge'.

There is a difference in privately owned car parks. Charges and conditions of use in off-street car parks are a contractual matter between the car park owner and the motorist. Enforcement of parking bays for people with disabilities is therefore a matter for the individual owner or operator of the car park.

 

[Benchwayze]

Garry,

What I was getting at is the current reluctance of the Police to deal with things they should be dealing with. I.e., road traffic accidents, where there is an offence disclosed or an allegation from one or other of the parties concerned. Assuming it is 'on a road', as defined by the act. Although, the only experience I have now is from watching the plethora of 'reality' Police shows presented by the ubiquitous Rav Wilding and ilk. 8) Sometimes those programmes are dismaying.

For instance, I can't recall ever calling a belligerent drunk, 'Sir'! :evil:
I still hate to see able drivers using a blue-badge parking space. :wink: