Disability Badges

[Max Power]

I was stood at the Metro Center near to the disabled parking waiting for my wife to emerge from the shops and couldn't believe the number of apparently fit people leaping from the cars and trotting off into the distance :shock:
I always assumed that people got parking badges because they had difficulty walking :?
(these people all had badges and were not incorrectly using the parking)

 

[AndyT]

While there is undoubtedly abuse of the system, I think we should be wary of jumping to conclusions without knowing the whole story.

If you look at the rules for blue badge use in England (http://www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consu...disabled/documents/digitalasset/dg_186198.pdf) you'll see that it does allow for use by a disabled person as a passenger. So sometimes, yes, you will see an able-bodied driver fetching or dropping off a disabled person, who could have been inside the shopping centre.

If use is by an able-bodied person without the badge holder being there, then that is against the rules and offenders should be prosecuted. This is from the rules leaflet:


Who can use the badge?
The badge is for your use and benefit only. It must only be displayed if you are travelling in the vehicle as a driver or passenger, or if someone is collecting you or dropping you off and needs to park at the place where you are being collected or dropped.Do not allow other people to use the badge to do something on your behalf, such as shopping or collecting something for you, unless you are travelling with them.
• You must never give the badge to friends or family to allow them to park for free, even if they are visiting you.
• You should not use the badge to allow non-disabled people to take advantage of the benefits while you sit in the car. Although it is not illegal for a badge holder, or a non-disabled person waiting for the badge holder to return, to remain in the vehicle while the Blue Badge is displayed, consideration should be given to using a car park whenever possible.

 

[Gary]

One could argue you can park where you like at the Metro Centre. Badge or no badge.

 

[JakeS]

My mother has suggested in the past that she may be eligible for a disabled badge, as she has suffered from fibromyalgia;
it doesn't give her any overt signs of disability, just makes everything ache constantly. She didn't ask after one as she felt herself perfectly capable of walking an extra few metres in the car park, but I imagine there are many other conditions which are debilitating but not obvious at first glance.

If you look at the rules for blue badge use in England (http://www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consu...disabled/documents/digitalasset/dg_186198.pdf) you'll see that it does allow for use by a disabled person as a passenger. So sometimes, yes, you will see an able-bodied driver fetching or dropping off a disabled person, who could have been inside the shopping centre.

There was a story going around here recently about an able-bodied woman who had been queried when using a disabled space, kicked up a fuss complaining that it was disgusting that she would be stopped and questioned when picking up her elderly mother in her mother's car, then turned up a while later with said mother to demonstrate. It supposedly turned out later that she had driven to the care home where her mother lived and demanded that they wake the poor old woman up and get her dressed specifically so she could be paraded in front of the traffic warden... I don't know how true the story is, since I heard it second-hand - but it wouldn't surprise me in the least.


Still, the more problematic issue in the car park near where I work seems just to be people without badges parking in the disabled bays. If there were ever a shortage of disabled parking it would be far more effective to deal with the badgeless, at least around here.

(I parked in a disabled bay once myself - in my defence there was a ten-centimetre layer of compacted snow and ice over it and I could barely see the curb, let alone the lines on the tarmac; I only found out the next week when the ice had cleared!)

 

[RogerS]

Mis-use of disabled spaces and children's parking spaces are guaranteed to get me going and I have had an altercation with miserable selfish scroats abusing these spaces on more than one occasion. To be honest, I feel at times taking an iron bar to the kneecaps of those mis-using disabled spaces.

 

[paultnl]

My uncle was once rudely challenged for parking in a disabled space, his response was to remove his leg and hit the warden with it.

 

[Max Power]

My problem is not with "disabled" people using their facilities,its with relativly able bodied people being given badges, I was of the impression you had to be unable to walk a short distance unaided to qualify. I know of one person who can easily walk a couple of miles who has a disability car :roll: and another who helps out on the markets which involves lot of fetching and carrying and also has a disability car :shock: .
If they ever decide to monitor these shopping centers there will be a lot of cars going back :mrgreen:

 

[RogerS]

Thing is Alan that there will always be miserable selfish scrotes who will blag their way through life...be it benefit fraud to, as you say, getting a badge when they are not disabled.

 

[woodstainwilly]

In our town,parking is unlimited for badge holders. That is fine except
all the proscribed spaces are full by 8am each day and remain so until
around 5pm.This gives genuine disabled shoppers no alternative but
to park on yellow lines and cause obstructions.
Not good me thinks.

 

[Gary]

In our town,parking is unlimited for badge holders. That is fine except
all the proscribed spaces are full by 8am each day and remain so until
around 5pm.This gives genuine disabled shoppers no alternative but
to park on yellow lines and cause obstructions.
Not good me thinks.

Have you stopped to consider who maybe using then? How about disabled workers?

 

[Gary]

Thing is Alan that there will always be miserable selfish scrotes who will blag their way through life...be it benefit fraud to, as you say, getting a badge when they are not disabled.

Why do you assume theses been any fraud? The parking Alan talks about isn't controlled. Anyone can use any parking bay.

 

[RogerS]

Thing is Alan that there will always be miserable selfish scrotes who will blag their way through life...be it benefit fraud to, as you say, getting a badge when they are not disabled.

Why do you assume theses been any fraud? The parking Alan talks about isn't controlled. Anyone can use any parking bay.

I don't assume anything.

I was referring to Alan's post here My problem is not with "disabled" people using their facilities,its with relativly able bodied people being given badges, I was of the impression you had to be unable to walk a short distance unaided to qualify. I know of one person who can easily walk a couple of miles who has a disability car and another who helps out on the markets which involves lot of fetching and carrying and also has a disability car

And we all know that benefit fraud exists.

 

[devonwoody]

fella in our road works for a washing machine/dishwasher group (repair engineer and has a disabled badge, so anybody must be able to get one if you apply :wink:

 

[Gary]

Thing is Alan that there will always be miserable selfish scrotes who will blag their way through life...be it benefit fraud to, as you say, getting a badge when they are not disabled.

Why do you assume theses been any fraud? The parking Alan talks about isn't controlled. Anyone can use any parking bay.

I don't assume anything.

I was referring to Alan's post here My problem is not with "disabled" people using their facilities,its with relativly able bodied people being given badges, I was of the impression you had to be unable to walk a short distance unaided to qualify. I know of one person who can easily walk a couple of miles who has a disability car and another who helps out on the markets which involves lot of fetching and carrying and also has a disability car

And we all know that benefit fraud exists.

Yes, it does. But you don't need a badge to park in a shopping centre disabled bay.

 

[Gary]

fella in our road works for a washing machine/dishwasher group (repair engineer and has a disabled badge, so anybody must be able to get one if you apply :wink:

Not so, but you don't have to be on benefits to be disabled.

 

[RogerS]

Yes, it does. But you don't need a badge to park in a shopping centre disabled bay.

Are you saying it's a free for all then? That anyone can park in those bays?

 

[Gary]

Yes.

 

[RogerS]

That's scandalous then. I must write to my MP :wink:

 

[Gary]

Why?

What can your MP do?

There are on parking orders to control such car parks. For parking they are essentially private places.

 

[RogerS]

Why?

What can your MP do?

There are on parking orders to control such car parks. For parking they are essentially private places.

L o o k a t t h e s m i i e y.