Blue Badge Parking

[McMouse]

Ma-in-Law received her renewed blue badge today and I read the leaflet that came with it. It seems (provided she is in the car) we don't have to pay the London congestion charge, may park on double and single yellow lines for up to 3 hours, get free parking at most public car parks, don't have to pay the M6 toll, freebie over the Severn crossing....it goes on. She is disabled for goodness sake, not impoverished. Why shouldn't we pay the going rate?

[bednobs]

i didn't realise that about the M6 toll! Do you have to apply in advance (like the congestion charge) or just show your badge?
I guess it's because disabled people don't have the choice of parking further away in a free spot and then walking in, so HAVE to use the car park. therefore they get it for free. Same with cc. If you have to go to somewhere in central london and you are not disabled, you have a choice of how you're gonna get there (bus; tube etc) but disabled people sometimes dont

[McMouse]

bednobs........you do have to apply in advance. In our local car park the pay and display machine is next to the blue badge bays. Similarly, the introduction of double yellow lines throughout the village was justified on the grounds of road safety. Can't see how road safety is served when I can now legally park on double yellows in the most inappropriate places e.g. opposite another car thus restricting a bus route to a single lane.

[bednobs]

if you read the leaflet properly, you CANNOT park on double yellows with impunity, where it would cause an obstruction, impair view and such like

[bednobs]

About parking in pay and display car parks free i meant (for example) they are usually closest to the shops etc. Other people (like my miserly old dad) might park further away from where he wants to go because he dosen't have to pay, then walk there

[trt]

mcmouse,

If you feel so strongly about people having perks with their blue badge, hand yours back in.

I have had one for about 6 months and find it very useful.

[RATTER15]

Mcmouse, yes you can park on double yellows but if you cause an obstruction you will still be had by the yellow peril or the police, trust me, you still need to be very careful where you park, we also have a blue badge, if you take the p!ss you could lose your blue badge also!

[bobjugs12]

McM, i don't need a blue badge. I just use a work vehicle ;-)

[bednobs]

just looked and having a blue badge does not exempt you from the M6 toll

[McMouse]

bednobs.......//The Mobility Exemption Pass allows free passage of the nominated vehicle on the M6 Toll only. If you think you may be eligible for a Mobility Exemption Pass, you must apply to Midland Expressway Limited as no other evidence of disability (e.g. Blue Badge) can be accepted. To qualify for exemption, you must be on the higher rate disability living allowance and be road tax exempt//

All this applies to my Ma-in-Law.

[cazzz1975]

ahh good old negative spin to get everyone up in arms about disabled people again

[brenda]

Just get MIL to hand it back in if you do not want to use the given allocated benefits.
.Would save a lot of pointless agonising.

[Mamyalynne]

McMouse I think you would be better served to ask Ma in Law, why she applied for the Blue Badge. It does not come automatically as you need to send in a photograph.

[paddywak]

McMouse when I first got my blue badge I like may people did not read the paper work properly and as a result I came out of a shop in Mansfield to find a warden ticketing me I not only got a fixed penalty fine (at that time £30.00) but also a lecture on just what the badge entitled me to do and about readig the documentation properly in future

[McMouse]

brenda.......not agonising, merely asking the question why going rate should not be paid. Agree that priority parking should be provided but don't understand the free element. Similarly, what has her disability got to do with a free crossing over Severn toll bridge?

[cazzz1975]

she may have to incur more living costs than the average able bodied person due to her disability, she may also have to make more visits to doctors/hospitals or therapists therefore some fees are waived.

granted it may not be exactly what her costs are but they just give an average to cover the varying scales of disablement.

[theshedman]

Hi, if you lived in East Devon you wouldn't get free parking in pay and display. Disabled pay the same as everyone else, just slightly bigger parking spaces.

[RATTER15]

lol shedman, Same in North Devon, no free parking in car parks here.

[paddywak]

One of the things with the blue badge scheme is that so many people abuse it, I often see people using their parents, partners, etc badge as a ticket to park. The badge is issued to the person not a car and it really annoys most genuine users to see a badge being used by somebody to whom it obviously does not belong. Also in areas like London there is a huge blackmarket in "Cloned" badges the Motability mag often has warnings about this, There was a letter the other month from a guy who'd had his nicked and at the last report the police had recovered over fifty copies

[Jemisa]

Disabled have to pay like everyone else in Southend on Sea.

jem