New Blue Disabled Driver's Badge.

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.telegraph....-to-combat-fraud.html

How will these new badges be of any help to the genuine disabled driver?

The present badge is not hand written on a piece of card as reported, it is a printed document, with a photograph of it's holder on it and enclosed in plastic.

What the authorities should be clamping down on is the ease some are able to acquire these badges, the use by others who are not the holder of the badges, and those that illegally park in disabled drivers spaces, etc,

What also amusers me however is the fact that some blue badge holders, park in the supermarket disabled spaces, which are in close proximity to the entrance of the supermarket and then are able to walk around the supermarket for close on a hour doing their shopping.

If they are fit enough to do that then surely they shouldn't hold a disabled blue badge.

[bednobs]

i think "extreme walking difficulties" leads people to believe it's for people who have something wrong with their legs. If you have COPD for example, you may have no problems whatsoever with your legs, it's just that you can't walk more than a few steps before being too breathless to carry on

[cazzz1975]

blindness..

[anotheoldgit]

/// can't walk more than a few steps before being too breathless to carry on ///

Surely this is the same as having walking difficulties? Providing that they can't walk around the supermarket also.

/// Blindness ///

Obviously they could not drive if they are blind, so therefore someone is there to guide them, but they can still walk the distances required surely?

[erin-x]

And what about the people who can walk for an hour around a shop and then be fatigued and in agony by the time they leave. This cannot be assessed in a little walking test but they are still entitled to their blue badge.

[Everhelpful]

As I said,AOG,judging by the anger and vitriol you are receiving,I don't think it is one of your better posts,however, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you and your Family a Happy New Year, and look forward to more of your posts in 2012. Cheers.

[erin-x]

Here's an idea..... If people with a disabilty take longer than an hour in a supermarket carpark, someone should come and take their car to the crusher. They are obviously lying if they can stay in a shop for that length of time.....

[daffy654]

The attitudes from some people towards those of us who are disabled are one of the reasons I never renewed my blue badge and haven't left the house in weeks. You should have seen the looks I used to get when I climbed out of my fiance's car in a disabled bay. Because I am only 43 and can walk they assumed my badge was forged or stolen.

[cazzz1975]

quoted from a blue badge FAQ

"Blue parking badges allow cars carrying people who are registered blind or people who have severe walking difficulties to be parked near shops, stations, leisure facilities, etc."

you dont have to have walking difficulties to have a blue badge..

[slinky.kate]

vhg- i got a parking ticket because the blue badge was facing the wrong way ,the photo wads shown

[LoftyLottie]

Several months ago I appealed on the decision not to let me have a blue badge. Some days I can hardly walk, and on other days I am like the scenario erin has made, due to really bad arthritis in my feet (which will probably soon require fusion operations). As yet I have had no reply.

People assume it has been easy to get a blue badge - it isn't.

It is the action of driving and using my feet and ankles that actually makes my situation worse - I can usually hardly walk after driving, and living in the sticks means that I can't go anywhere without driving.

[LoftyLottie]

People should never assume that people aren't disabled just because they appear fit and healthy. I like to appear fit and healthy - but sometimes it is to me disadvantage.

I am riddled with arthritis - it's not just in my feet!!

[Carakeel]

Being disabled is not something anyone wants to be. To get a blue badge here where we live, you have to be in receipt of the highest rate of DLA mobility allowance and that in itself is not at all easy to get! AOG - You have no idea how hard it can be to do ones shopping when each step is painful or you don't have the balance or the energy / stamina you need etc. But the shopping needs to be done as, believe it or not, even the disabled have to feed their families and themselves! I have often had to leave the supermarket with only a small part of my shopping done, as I was in too much pain and exhaustion to carry on! And often I am aware that people do not realise how difficult it is for me, as I try to look "normal" and make every effort to live my life as actively as I can. If you saw me on a good day, you would probably be one of those people who would complain that I was not disabled enough to have a blue badge. But look a little closer and you will find that my medical history includes a long list of problems which mean I live with a lot of pain, from a broken vertebrae in my back, a fracture of a vertebrae in my neck, severe irrepairable nerve damage in my back and legs, a bone spur on my spinal column that is constantly pressing on my sciatic nerve, two replacement knees, osteoarthritis in most of my joints, including my hands etc etc. Oh, I nearly forgot ... I have also had bone cancer! So, next time you feel you need to judge what disabled people can and cannot do, think again! You are judging something you know nothing at all about!!!

And Joeluke, we do not insist on free parking in pay and display car perks! In fact, in ours here, we do have to pay!!

[ubasses]

One thing you do not seem to be taking into account it is not just the fact that some people cannot walk around it is actaully getting them out of the car. If I could not get a disabled space which is wider than the normal spaces I would not actually be able to get my mother out of the car and into her wheelchair restricting my ability to take her out. It would not matter how far away the space was as once she was in the chair I can push her as far as necessary, but of course most places like to keep all the spaces in one area.

[LoftyLottie]

I have that problem ubasses. I need to open a car door wide in order to get out without any pain - I have added that fact to my appeal!!!! Grrrrr, I need a Blue Badge.

[slinky.kate]

what makes me so angry is people who dont display their badges,would you pull them up then??????

[LoftyLottie]

Well said Carakeel! I feel just the same as you. I have had loads of medical problems, including a fractured spine - I try to smile and do my best to help others when shopping too, but I always come home absolutely exhausted and in pain from a shopping trip. It finishes me off for the rest of the day. People just don't understand. x

[anotheoldgit]

Everhelpful

I get used to it, no matter what subject I post on some cannot join in a recreational, pleasant and enjoyable debate, without the need for unpleasantness, but then it is them who have the problem, not I.

But thanks anyway for your New Year wishes, Everhelpful

And the very same to you and your family, may you all have a Happy, Healthy and prosperous New Year.

[China Doll]

I had an op a year ago which required me to be on cruthes. At that point, if we had to go shopping, man hostage parked in the disabled bays as I clearly couldn't walk very well and don't think anyone would have challenged me. Up until the op I had been unable to walk for longer than ten minutes without my hip locking causing me pain and to stop walking and then have to resume with a limp and then have hip lock again and then limp a bit more etc but I lived on my own and unless man hostage was around, I had to do my own food shopping and other normal errands... then come home and be in pain for the rest of the evening; if we had attempted to park in a disabled bay at that point we'd have got nothing but tuts, frowns and probably some raised eyebrows because at that point I didn't have the visual clue (crutches) that something was actually quite wrong with me as I'm a 33 (then 32) year old adult who outwardly looks perfectly healthy. I obviously don't need a blue badge as what I have is hopefully temporary but just because someone looks healthy or doesn't have a visual clue like crutches, a wheelchair or a walking stick doesn't mean that everything is just hunky dory. There are people out there who take the proverbial, but there are also those who struggle on in pain and go unnoticed or looked down on because people tend to prefer to make snap judgements.

[hc4361]

Parking is free in some council car parks (not all) because disabled badge holders are legally allowed to park on double yellow lines for up to 3 hours and single yellow lines all day, without payment.

To encourage the disabled badge holder to use the car park and not block the roads, free parking is given. (Yes, I know the disabled person is not allowed to cause obstruction and can't park willy nilly on yellow lines but it is harder to convict a person for obstruction than for simply parking on yellow lines.)

I agree that only the badge holder should use the badge, as is the law, and the penalties must be stricter for those abusing it. However, enforcement official sees able person return to car and asks to see the badge (as is their right), and the driver is not the badge holder but claims he has escorted the disabled passenger into the building. Now, how far should the official be able to go to prove otherwise? Demand the doctor's receptionist to confirm that person is with the doctor?

I am sick to death of passers by giving my mother the evil eye because of her blue badge.