Disabled Badge Holders

[AndyF]

I don't know the precise rules the government lay down about Orange/Blue Disabled badge holders, but is it just me, or do they park in the most stupid places??

I assume they are allowed to park on double yellow lines, because I rarely see them anywhere else!, but is this really such a good idea??
Over to you.

Rant Over......

[garcon]

They are allowed to park on double yellows if doing so does not create an obstruction.

Anyway, where else can they park when all the disabled spaces are taken up by ignorant trophy wives in BMW X5s who can't be arsed to walk?

(Or is that just in Wilmslow? )

By the way, totally off topic - another reason I LOVE the Range Rover... proof that all those poseurs and trophy wives are only driving around in an X5 because:
a) it was the car 6 months ago, and
b) they can't afford a Range Rover!

Justice at last!!

[Bluebottle]

The badges are often misused- not neccesserily by the disabled themselved but by their friends and families who use them as a "Park Where I Like" badge, thus giving genuine users a bad name. Difficult to police, often a badge holder may appear perfectly fit as they walk 5 yards from the car to the shop , you could then be forgiven for thinking they are abusing the system without knowing they can only walk that distance and not much further without great pain etc...

[Bluebottle]

I have a badge in my car which entitles me to use the 'Parent and Toddler' spaces at a well known supermarket. Great idea, exept at our local branch, the spaces are usually taken by cars with no badge and no evidence of children (child seat, toys, stains, footprints on the bodywork etc...)

[Lee Janotta]

Originally posted by garcon
[B]Anyway, where else can they park when all the disabled spaces are taken up by ignorant trophy wives in BMW X5s who can't be arsed to walk?/B]

That's what cricket bats are for!

[sss]

Originally posted by Bluebottle
I have a badge in my car which entitles me to use the 'Parent and Toddler' spaces at a well known supermarket. Great idea, exept at our local branch, the spaces are usually taken by cars with no badge and no evidence of children (child seat, toys, stains, footprints on the bodywork etc...)

ooo, one of my BIG gripes about supermarkets, i like to park in those spaces especially with the motorbike, i have no problem with disabled spaces being near the entrance, but i do with these parent toddler spaces.

why should i have to walk further with my little basket of goodies, than the parent & toddler, after all its your choice to have kids and all the burden that comes with them.
afterall is my money not good enough to get 'preferential' treatment.

[Bluebottle]

The point of the parent/child spaces is not the proximity of parking but the width of the space. It's darn near impossible to get a baby or toddler out of the car in a normal sized space (normal spaces in the UK allow for about a foot between cars, and that's only if people park properly!) The marked spaces in my local supermarket are not the closest to the building. The spaces for solo m/c's are right by the door

[Woolley]

They are allowed to park on double yellows if doing so does not create an obstruction

Err, isn't that why they put the yellow lines in the first place? because parking there would cause an obstruction

[alfasud]

Originally posted by sss
why should i have to walk further with my little basket of goodies, than the parent & toddler, after all its your choice to have kids and all the burden that comes with them.
afterall is my money not good enough to get 'preferential' treatment.

I think it's also a safety issue, so they don't have to take their small children through lanes of cars often moving too fast in the supermarket carpark.

Squashed toddler makes a mess of the paintwork, so it's for your own good really

[josvandeperre]

As I recall few years ago a survey in Bristol (I think) showed that over 50 % of people who abuse disabled spaces at supermarkets have criminal records - and the other 50 % have X5's or similar I guess - most people I see using disabled permits seem to have coincidentally forgotten their disability at home that day.....

Garcon - if you think Wilmslow is bad try Fulham/Kensington/Chelsea - why do you think those sort of vehicles are known as Chelsea or Fulham Tractors

[josvandeperre]

Walking in to work today two disabled cars stopped and both drivers then ran accross the road (and not even to a chemist to get drugs for their disabled relative)

[avsfan733]

There was a problem some years ago with several division 1 basketball players being issued handicapped placards by their schools as a perk

[Suzy]

It is worth pointing out here that the disabled badges relate to the PERSON and not the car. This means that, if a disabled person is not in the car on a particular occasion, the person driving the car should NOT be parking in the disabled spaces! That is a big "no-no" as far as I am concerned. I throughly resent people abusing those little badges.

I have two members of my family who are disabled. They don't have orange badges even though they are both entitled to them. In fact, whoever issues these badges are totally bewildered as to why they have not taken advantage of the scheme. The answer is that, neither family members feels that they are "disabled enough" to warrant using them and other people are more entitled to them.

As an aside, I was furious a couple of years ago when I went on a holiday where there was a dance group visiting. I watched them move gracefully around the floor for an hour and a half doing the complicated ballroom dances... imagine my anger when I saw the head and his wife (who'd been leading the dancing) get into their car with a disabled badge on it! It struck me as the ultimate violation of that badge and I found it insulting.

[AndyF]

There's a nice Mitsubishi FTO in Portsmouth with a disabled badge - owned by someone who makes frequent visits to the local tennis centre!!

[Woolley]

Suzy, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the orange badge supposed to be displayed only when the person entitled to the badge is using the car? How on earth you enforce it, though, I can't imagine.

[garcon]

Yes, and I don't know either.

My gran has a blue badge (same as the orange one but different colour I guess...), which has been displayed in my car and my mum's car at different times. She keeps it in her handbag, so we don't get the chance to use it when we shouldn't

I still think misuse of disabled parking spaces is a bigger problem than misuse of disabled badges though. The reason so many cars with disabled badges are parked on double yellows etc is that the disabled parking spaces are full of cars driven by people too lazy and/or ignorant to find a proper space and/or walk...

[redshoes]

As Suzy says the badge is allocated to the person. As I recall the badge makes no refers to the vehicle registration number. In fact that person doesn't actually have to drive themself, or even hold a driving licence, a carer can legally display and use the badge providing the badge holder is in the car at the time.

It may surprise you but the issuing of badges is not controlled by central government. Although there are guidelines each local council will make it's own judgement. It's possible for a badge to be approved by one council and rejected by another should you move house.