Yet, new research says there already isn’t enough disabled parking for the existing 2.4 million people with Blue Badges, let alone adding more. Despite this, most councils said they didn’t intend to create more disability parking spaces.
Parking the problem
Authorities say the UK has about 700,000 people on the autism spectrum, around 850,000 with dementia, and estimate about three million with anxiety disorders. With changes to the scheme meaning more eligible people, there may soon be millions of extra badge holders in England and Wales.
The government said they would give councils an extra £1.7million to help them cope with the expected increase in applications but admitted they didn’t know how many more people would become eligible.
A study by the comparison site Confused.com found—before the Blue Badge Scheme extension—only one council-operated bay existed for every 30 badge holders. Despite this, 74% of councils said they would not be building any more disabled parking bays.
Yet councils don’t show the same reluctance in increasing parking charges or introducing other methods that, while often increase road safety, make money from motorists.
Councillors justify things like higher parking fees because of budget cuts or they cite traffic congestion, but when Penalty Charge Notices (PCN) make councils over £326m in just 12 months, can’t the public ask why they can’t invest part of the money into more parking spaces for the disabled?
Besides not being enough disabled bays available to go around, the changes to the Blue Badge Scheme may mean more opportunity for badge fraud. The Local Government Association confirmed that theft of Blue Badges has risen 45% in a year and 600% since 2013.
It’s also estimated that 20% of badge holders misuse them, letting family and friends use their permits when they themselves aren’t in the vehicle. But they should beware; 60% of councils prosecute drivers for misusing disabled parking permits and the fine can be as much as £1,000.
Adding insult to injury
‘It’s clear that people with hidden and non-physical disabilities need badges. But confidence in the Blue Badge scheme is undermined by the fact that only a minority of councils take action against misuse.’
While charities and motoring groups have welcomed the change, they’re concerned the extension might cause a lack of parking spaces for other motorists—including those with physical disabilities.
Amanda Stretton, Motoring Editor at Confused.com, said:
‘Clearly more parking for Blue Badge holders is needed—30 drivers to one space is quite a challenge.
‘It’s no wonder some of these drivers have had to park elsewhere, and the number of people competing for spaces is only going to grow as more people can apply for a Blue Badge now.’
‘Drivers who misuse these spaces are making the problem even worse. They should be more respectful and leave them free for those who need them,’ she added.
Confused.com surveyed 2,000 drivers and found that 7% of the 1,300 drivers without permits admitted to having misused a disabled parking bay. Twenty-four per cent said they couldn’t find another space, 28% said plenty of other disabled spaces were available, and 36% said they used the disabled space because ‘they were only going to be quick’.
How to apply for a Blue Badge
If your application is successful, and you’re an English resident, the badge will cost you £10. Blue Badges are free in Wales, while those in Scotland must pay £20. Blue Badges are valid for three years.
In London, Blue Badge holders are exempt from the Congestion Charge.
Blue Badges entitle the holder use of disabled parking bays, free use of pay-and-display spaces, and up to three hours of parking on single or double yellow lines. Different restrictions apply for each local council so make sure you check the rules where you are.
Without a doubt, the updated Blue Badge scheme will make a huge difference in the lives of many people with hidden disabilities, more so for those people with ‘hidden disabilities’ who, until now, wouldn’t consider leaving the house.
As a person with ‘hidden disabilities’ myself, if I should ever feel the need to apply for a Blue Badge, it would reassure me to know that there would be enough suitable parking spaces available.
It’s just as well that only a fraction of blue badge holders want a space at the same time and that yellow line parking makes up for som of the shortfall, but a pity that they’re not encouraging them to park safely on yellow lines and not cause traffic obstruction. More designated spaces would help to resolve poor yellow line parking problems too
And I thought yellow lines where there for a reason, mainly traffic control so if its ok to park a disabled 4×4 there why not a normal car, they are the same size.
I feel sorry for all us able bodied people who have no children as we have been pushed into the tightest of car park spaces now where your car gets dented constantly that’s of course if you can find a parking space now in car parks due to extra disables spaces and the children spaces which are even bigger.
More parking tickets should be handed out, Motability cars around where I live are the scourge of the road they park on corners, crossings on the zig zags and roundabouts, cause absolute havoc in seaside small towns.
Robin how do you know that they are Motability cars that are parked where you claim, just because they have a blue badge does not mean that they are a Motability customer, you have to have a limit as to how far you can walk to be awarded the full PIP payment which you have to have to get a Motability car.
Majority are 18/19 plate cars so a real good chance they are, one particular chaps dumps it right on the crossing staggers with his walking canes to the bookies BUT!!! if traffic warden turns up he is out like a shot its a miraculous recovery for him be it temporary moves almost as good as me.
We all have problems and things we can no longer do that’s life, but I think to allow a vehicle to just park on a double yellow line for 3 hours considering at present the amount of vehicles on the road now is just beyond me, I know it sounds callous but as said that’s life, if yellow lines are put down they are there for a reason, which means cars, vans & trucks Can’t wait let alone park, yet for some reason a blue badge car can yet it is the same size as any other vehicle on the road and causes the same amount of chaos and to be fair there is a large majority of people who can walk they just don’t want to, able bodied people are just as bad we park on pavements so we don’t have to walk far to the shop, my friend actually parks his car on the pavement next to a post box so he can reach out of his window to post a letter???? how lazy is that.
Don’t even start me on child spaces just because people can no longer control their children, how did we get by with our own children I wonder!
I agree that some disabled people park ire sponsibly and they should get a ticket the same as anyone else, would you have the same view if you had a blue badge
of course not, we are all driven these days by what we want, its all about wants isn’t it, you want to park on a double yellow for 3 hours I want to drive through town with out having to squeeze past parked cars in narrow sections of road, you want to have close access to the supermarket door, I want to park in the supermarket car park with out having to worry about having my £16,000 car dented that I just put my hard earned cash into, if the rolls where reversed and I was the badge holder and you weren’t the wants would also swap over, its the simple realistic case of two many cars on the road and not enough space to put them all, if I was you I would me more annoyed at child spaces usually bigger than yours and in our local Tesco they have now moved the disabled parking in to the main runs and put children’s parking under the canopy, so you get a soaking now as well. hardly fair!
As a blue badge holder I would fully expect to get a ticket if I parked contrary to the requirements of the conditions imposed
. Have a look at the regulations regarding badges before you make comments and not just guess them
I have a blue badge and my car is on an 18 plate but it is not a mobility car, and my injuries were caused by my naval service
Well luckily for you there’s that new app that can be used to report illegally parked cars and wait for it ….. 4×4 and you get a cut of the money if the driver is charged , save it and use it to pay for the dents and scratches, it all adds to the economy, think creatively
Thanks Stuart that’s so helpful.
Please supply the link.
‘Motability cars are the scourge of the road ‘.??? You are disgusting, the scourge of mankind
I hope that you never become disabled and in constant pain some of us it the only way to get out its a life line
Yep crumbling discs in my spine Harry, good doses of tramadol and physio, but I refuse to give up I want to live my life my way whilst I can not have it state driven. time for that later. nor do I want my back fused yet. so yep constant pain to varying levels.
Robin. A good dose of Tramadol! I just hope you are not driving when taking this good dose as you would be no better than a drink driver.
Be careful Robin – Tramadol is an opiate and may cause hallucinations. Avoid alcohol while using as in some cases can be fatal (this is advice from a friend of mine who was a former Police Drugs Squad Officer). 😐
That explains my hallucination of a pay rise!
they are! disgusting not, but brave to speak what most think I feel, I could give you endless examples but here is a super one Maxda MX5 + child in massive wheel chair, parents get the MX5 on Motability (Free Car) whilst driving child around in an old Astra Estate, and I am disgusting!
These cars are everywhere, no room for the rest of us.
Not sure where you have seen this Mazda MX5 mutability car. Last time I looked Motability didn’t have such a car on their lists of eligible motability cars.
Mazda Dealership, roughly 5/6 years back
I really must apologise wholeheartedly for being disabled. I know it’s really selfish of me, but then that’s just the sort of self-centered burke I am. I realise that I have absolutely no right to expect the same sort of freedoms that normal people have – doing my own shopping, going to the library, taking in a show, going to church – but I get such a thrill pretending I’m like a normal person that I just can’t help myself! When I think about it, I should never have got ill in the first place. What was I thinking?
Well said Dave
Yep really well said, sarcasm is er sooooo funny.
What’s a “normal” person Dave, me? well I can’t do the same things I did when I was 20 so in my case which one of me is “normal” the 20 year old or the 56 year old, I am afraid is called life, it deals you the cards you have to play, its dealing me some real duff cards at the mo, so what! play with what you got and simply accept there are things you wont do either ever again or at a reduced rate like the rest of us so called “normal” people.
It’s like the fat lad that lives opposite and 4 down from me late 20 mid 30’s I believe just received his brand new Nissan 4X4 about 3 weeks ago, according to his neighbours he has breathing difficulties and asthma must weight around 20 stone, spends his time in Pub, takeaways and when not doing them dominoes pizza delivers to him, now trying for extra benefits as an alcoholic as his breathing problems are depressing him it seems, would you say this was “normal” or would you say its a shame as he’s disabled? there is your problem, too many people abuse the blue badge whilst rest of us struggle.
Robin you will always get the scroungers in life. Those that are too idol to work, those who are too lazy to make a difference to their life and/or disability. However, you CANNOT put everyone in the same bracket.
The majority of blue badge holders, or those with a motability car are seriously disabled and need the extra help to lead a more normal life, not get stuck in their homes to vegetate and become intolerably depressed.
If you have never applied for PIP you won’t know that it is not an easy benefit to obtain. At standard level let alone the enhanced mobility level.
My friend’s husband had terminal cancer, was permanently on medication and infusions to keep the grim reaper away. Needed oxygen canisters with him at all times due to his heart condition that caused its own set of problems and couldn’t be operated on due to his ill health. Yet, despite having hospital documentation confirming his condition, which had also rendered him totally unable to walk, he still had to go through the hoops to get DLA again when he lived longer than his initial 3 year award. How rude of him not to have died earlier perhaps? His poor wife struggled to care for him, despite her own major health problems, including severe back problems. The only way she could get him to hospital and later to a hospice for respite care, was in a vehicle large enough and adapted to accommodate his wheelchair. Would you include this man in your scourge of society? Would he have been on your scourge list when he was fighting for his country?
Shame on you for being so narrow minded and bitter towards those who are so much worse off than you.
Funnily enough I too have major disc problems that cause excruciating pain and has caused major nerve damage resulting in loss of sensation in my legs. I don’t have a mobility car, nor do I have PIP. I mourn my lose of ability to do the things I used to do. I hate that I’m so drugged up on Tramadol that I wouldn’t even dream about getting behind the wheel of a car. However, I don’t feel bitter toward the people who do need PIP and/or a mobility car to be able to do at least some of the things an able body of any age can do.
The only thing I would agree with you on is the child parking spaces. They are a joke and the biggest form of mollycoddling I can think of with regard to parking. I agree, they never had such things when my children were young. I was expected to deal with my children in a normal size parking space. Then again my children were well behaved. They never screamed and carried on in restaurants. They held my hand when getting out of the car and were always on reins when they were too young to understand better.
Oh Gwyn, I’m so sorry to hear about your disability. By having something wrong with your brain plus lack of empathy I would try applying for a Blue Badge. Not all illnesses are visible.
Join the discEven Disabled Badge holders should park within the law, while Yellow Lines are OK parking on corners, crossings, on the zig zags and roundabouts is NOT
BB holders are given a booklet telling them where they may and may not park. Yellow lines, single or double, are only allowed to be parked on if they are not causing an obstruction or creating a potential problem or danger – therefore if the BB holder is causing any problem by parking on yellow lines they are as equally liable to prosecution as any other driver. A BB holder is not permitted to park on red lines, zigzag lines, corners, roundabouts, pavements, loading bays, bus stops and will be accountable in law the same as any other driver.
A BB is not a ‘get out of jail free’ card. BB holders that flagrantly flout the law and abuse their BB should be called to account the same as any other road user. Their abuse of their BB only fuels the contempt many able bodied people have for BB holders.
A respect and empathy for BB holders who park within their rights should be given and not the resentment and seemingly bitter hatred and even envy that seems to be too much the norm because of the few BB holders who, because they hold a BB think they can flaunt every law in the book.
You need to get a life silly boy grow up we don’t want blue badges you can have my illness and I will be fit and able body dim wit
Blue badge holders are not allowed to park if causing obstruction, certainly not on zebra crossings roundabouts or road junctions. Get your facts straight
By Amanda Stretton being so dogmatic I will not be using Confused.com. My local mall car park (the one I use) has four floors and perhaps 200 spaces per floor. The ground floor is 100% blue badge and when I pass through has from 10 to 30 cars. Each of the other floors also have dedicated blue badge spaces (which are usually occupied). OK so the last car park of Boot Hill, Rubbish Street; only has 3 blue badge spaces but she should not tar every car park in the nation with the same brush.
Misuse of BB is rife more needs to be done to prevent this BB get a bad name more so when young people jump out of a car run to the nearest store leaving a BB on display I believe the Photo side should be displayed, then warden or attendant could see who the BB is issued too.
If you had a blue badge you would see that clearly printed on the side without the photograph is written “Display this side up”. It is the side with the expiry date of the badge printed on it that has to be displayed.
“Invisible” disabilities don’t require wider wheelchair bays.
I agree, I’m a Blue Card holder and always have difficulty finding a Parking space
Hi P Bell my wife is also a blue badge holder and we some times have difficulty in finding a disabled bay but we can park on yellow lines for 3 hours which is what we do.
Try being a non blue badge holder, you have no chance of parking anywhere these days
True but a psychological condition may mean the BB holder doesn’t have presence of mind or awareness to be spatially aware enough not to open doors in a way not to cause a hazard, damage or harm. They may be a passenger rather than a driver.
In this day and age, we cannot segregate parking paces for those with a physical or psychological condition.
Yes we can, try getting out with a wheelchair to transfer into.
Seriously, Eric? What makes physically disabled BB holders more important than psychologically disabled BB holders in your mind?
Wow, you’ve just suggested the type of segregation of apartheid era South Africa. There is no place for that type of bigotry these days.
I never suggested making disabled spaces smaller. A disability is a disability no matter of its type.
Alaster 2, how about this one then. You should not be given a blue badge unless you are physically disabled. That was why the blue badge was introduced, not for some one who can walk an move freely. I know people who have a blue badge an mobility funded car because their kid has autism. F$%ing joke, when I know a woman who has had a stroke could not talk, walk, or do much for her self have to wait for 6 month to see if she got any better before they offered her help with blue badge an car.
Hi Shed. Yes, I agree there are major issues in the BB scheme. Some of the qualifying rules sound like idiocy. What gets me is why the assessors don’t appear to feed back about people who they know are being failed but it appears some are only interested in their payslip.
Let’s not start on the rise of autism…
This is very true. However, as you say in instances where they are the passenger it can be assumed the driver is the carer. Therefore, wouldn’t it be pertinent to argue that the invisibly disabled in this scenario should sit preferable in the back seat and that if child locks are engaged on the doors then the carer is the only one able to open the door (from the outside) thereby having more control of the door and also the invisibly disabled person. This would also invalidate the need for wider parking spaces for these disabled people.
I’m certainly not against disabled places that are in safe places for the invisible disabled. It must be horrendous and very stressful for the carer of an invisably disabled person; especially if there is a potential for them to run into the road or any moving car in a car park.
It just seems logical to create more and safe spaces for these particular individuals without decreasing the overall parking capacity of the car park.
You know that… HOW??
Excellent point Eric. Perhaps the invisible disabilities should have a separate, differently coloured, badge. That could be used in parking bays close to hand and safe, but without the extra space either side that is needed for wheelchair users and those disabled that need that extra space just to get the car door open wide enough to be able to get out of their car.
There are too many people with Blue Badges that no longer need them and some who need them but are not being accepted. I followed one person from a Blue Badge parking space through our local town for at least a quarter of a mile and not a limp, a stop for breath or a stick. The person was fitter than me so whey are traffic wardens not watching and challenging when they see what I see. Give badges to the needy not the greedy who just want free parking.
You followed him , wow that’s creepy, apart from nothing what was achieved by following said person?
Surely it’s about time people realised that, BB Parking Spaces are for ‘DISABLED DRIVERS’! Disabled passengers can be ‘dropped off’ and the car parked wherever, to return when required.
Able-bodied drivers are all too often abusing the system by using the badge and taking spaces required by ‘Disabled Drivers’!
So you would leave a severely autistic person alone while you parked only to find they have wandered off or panicked and run away simply because they were not the driver?
The disabled bay is for disabled PEOPLE not drivers. I sometimes have to be driven by my nominated driver who happens to be able bodied. don’t be so bigoted, you are the sort of person who we have to deal with on a daily basis disgusting
Before my elderly mother died I sometimes needed to drive her to places. Because she was not able to walk well she used a wheelchair, which I had to push, and because of her age (and dementia) she was no longer able to drive. As others have pointed out, this is a perfectly legitimate and legal use of her blue badge.
Get your facts straight read the regulations the badge is for the disabled in the car passenger or driver
Driving with dementia ??? Come on people, be serious!!!
There are different levels of dementia, you no doubt focused on the worse one , I very much doubt those with a severe case of dementia would even know how to drive a car
I thought blue badges were for people with mobility problems where does the rest come in what ajoke
The law has been changed , do catch up
I know someone who uses a blue badge. Her illness is hidden – she leaves him at home. Clear abuse. Council not interested.
No need for even more unused spaces we can’t use. They are allowed to park on Yellow lines, so why should the scheme change? If it ain’t broke Don’t fix it must apply. Tell them to leave hazard lights flashing when on Yellow Lines!! I prefer to leave matters as they stand. They are a minority and their needs are adequately served as they are. Good luck to them!! I wish I could do as they can. Sometimes, as now, it is time to count your blessings!! Things are fair as they are so that is what matters!! G.
Any change for the better for Blue badge holders will be most welcome and also very slow coming.
One problem is the use of bays by unbadged cars and no policing by the council or the police where sometimes it is a quick visit to a cash machine or the quick cigarette desk inside the door but often just complete badness.
Many shopping malls do not police them either and this is often away from the big Towns and Cities, where disability is obviously not as serious as if you live elsewhere!
One should also take note is that many hospitals and shops although having bays for Blue Badge holders also Charge for the privilege of being disabled,
this can be a costly visit if you are on a visit to the hospital for treatment.
The disability problem as well as physical or mental can be very costly over and above the cost of the Blue Badge in the area that charge.
It’s a great idea, my daughter has severe mental health problems and hates using public transport or people “looking at her” If she can get a blue badge now it would mean we can park nearer to doctors, hospitals etc and make it less stressful for her (and me!)
You can’t go by year plates for Motability cars/ vans as they change every 3 or 5 years. Bring back tax discs then it’s easy to show who is or isn’t disabled as the tax class says disabled and zero fee.
Just because someone has a van doesn’t mean they’re not disabled either. My wife is in a wheelchair and I’m on crutches as the driver; I can drive ok but not walk far. The number of people who moan if I’m parked in a bay without them bothering to look at a blooming great sign saying Please leave 3 metres for loading/unloading on the back and a wheelchair symbol.
I wouldn’t dream of parking on a double or single yellow line but yes some do. It does warn new badge holders they mustn’t park where it will cause an obstruction but some people are totally thick and don’t understand what they shouldn’t do.
Make the benefits clearer and where to park safely and treat everyone the same. I don’t enjoy being disabled as there are more downsides to it than benefits.
Bigredbus, its not just some BB holders that are thick many able body drivers are as well and dump cars in the most stupid places its all about “my rights” mentality, but Stuart has come with an app you can apparently download to take photos of parked cars and get a cut of the fine.
Many councils all over the country charge Blue Badge holders to park in their car parks No wonder many park on the road on yellow lines for three hours as they are allowed to do
Good, many Blue Badge holders moan that they are not treated as “normal” people and we only see their disability….. We guess what as “normal” (what ever that is) people we have to pay to use car parks as we haven’t the option to park illegally on yellow lines, welcome to “normal” world.
At least you get a decent space to park for your money, where as we don’t you have force yourself out of your car door as the spaces are to small to actually open your door to get out whilst denting the car next to you, meanwhile the disabled spaces are mostly empty.
I don’t know where you live, but I’ve never seen a car park with empty disabled parking spaces available in my area.
As for not having a large enough space for other drivers. I find that a rather laughable comment. It’s not the spaces getting smaller in the majority of cases, but rather the cars are getting bigger. When I first started driving there was never a problem about the size of the parking spaces; they were quite adequate for the majority of cars on the road. Nowadays the cars are just too big for the parking paces.
Point in fact, up until a couple of years ago I drove a Corsa, a reasonably small car. However, despite my parking quite sensibly in between the lines of the parking bay, on my return I found a massive car parked in the bay adjacent to my drivers side. It left me with a space so small I could only open my door to a maximum of 3 inches – far too small for the smallest of people to get in. I was left with no other options but to wait for the return of the other car’s owner (how long that might have been was nobody’s guess) or to get in the passenger door and climb over into the driver’s seat. Not the easiest task for someone of 5’10” in a relatively small car.
Perhaps if everyone who could utilised a smaller car did so there wouldn’t be the issues of potential dents and scrapes in car parks . Would also be better on the environment and everyone’s pocket. Just a thought!
Good point and agree, apart from Aldi last year remarked its parking bays to account for more BB and More Children spaces, before this I could get out of my car reasonably easy with hitting the car next to me, post new bays I cant, so either my car has got fatter or the bays have got thinner.
Yes I welcome them & about time to. Here in Bolton where we live the council have got rid of about half of them in the town centre making it very hard for disabled people to get near the market. One of the things that really gets to me is people using the blue badge when they are not entitled to it and the way to catch them out is simple PUT the picture of the person not on the back but on the front that’ll free up a lot of disabled bays.
Regards Wayne
I totally agree with your point about putting the picture on the display side of the BB. It has always seemed a bit ridiculous to insist on a photo that is never displayed. I always assumed, until I read a BB, that the picture was the side that should be displayed.
I wonder if this isn’t done to protect the disabled person from being attacked away from the car by would be thugs who would see a disabled person as an easy target?
I have recently found out that the display side does have coding on it that at the very least can identify the user as male or female. Whether parking attendants are aware of this fact is another matter. It should, in theory stop an opposite sex individual using a BB illegally.
Why don’t councils just make parking (for holders of Blue Badges) free in any parking space?. Then they would not have to “build” any more spaces – just use the ones that are already there! Obvious really!
Being free is not the point. It’s being close to where you need to be!
Exactly. If you can walk it would be of very limited distance and certainly not without severe pain. If you can’t walk then you need the extra space to facilitate getting in and out of the car and into a wheelchair. Furthermore, if you are in a wheelchair the chances are it will be a manual one, the pushing of which is quite an exertion for either the disabled person perambulating themselves or the carer pushing the wheelchair.
Then there are the hidden disabilities like stroke and heart suffers who are not medically permitted to walk major distances.
It’s a shame that people park in them that don’t have a blue badge and some Thames valley police officers when lots of spaces in carpark ops not near supermarkets
Blue Badges have a photo of the recipient on the back of the badge but that doesn’t have to be displayed. Many more misusers would get challenged if that photo were to be on the front which has to be displayed.
why should the parking be free ,BB holders are running cars, paying bills just like every one else ,there fore that can pay a couple of quid to park.
Ummm. Yes and no. Parking for BB holders isn’t always free. Hospitals being a prime example, yet many BB holders have to visit hospital a lot more frequently and sometimes for prolonged lengths of time. No concessions there, BB holder or not.
Paying or not paying in general car parks can be a very mute point. A BB holder has no other option other than to use their car to access facilities like banks, supermarkets etc. Perhaps the mobile sector of the public could in fact walk to many of their destination rather than get in their car, waste money on petrol and parking fees, let alone contribute to a better air quality. Okay it can be argued that some disabled could use a mobility scooter to get to the bank, supermarket etc, but then that isn’t always possible for a myriad of reasons. One being that the disabled person’s carer may not be well enough themselves to walk any major distance alongside the scooter. Another being that many able bodied people are quite scathing about the space a scooter takes up in supermarket aisles etc.
Local councils have no care or compassion for their community. Only financial concerns to generate revenue for dubious purposes
I thought disabled bays were for people with mobility issues. Does the new system mean that someone with any disability will now be able to park nearer to shops etc even though thet are capable of walking longer distances? One space for every 30 disabled drivers? How does that equate with spaces per able bodied driver?
I do get annoyed when I see drivers without blue badges or parents without young children in P&C spaces. Security companies/local councils do need to clamp down on this.
The other annoying issue is acres of empty ‘special’ spaces in car parks otherwise rammed with parked cars in which I can’t get a space. This will only get worse. Car parks are not elastic.
Parking on yellow lines is a whole other issue. Short time parking on single yellows may be acceptable, but double yellows are usually a matter of safety and should never be parked on. The only exception would be for emergency vehicles attending an incident.
Why do different councils have different rules? We are in Cornwall and unless you have a badge from them you have to pay in their car parks. Does my disability disappear in Cornwall or is it a way of making more money. The rules should be the same across the country.
I totally agree. London is a prime example. I took my friend up to an appointment in Kensington & Chelsea. a few years back. The train and onward journey was prohibitive because of their disability. Being naive and thinking a BB was a BB anywhere, I found a disabled parking space a few yards away from where she had to go and parked with BB on display. We came back to a £120.00 parking ticket! To add insult to injury there were cars, and vans parked on double yellow lines on the opposite side on the road and not one had a parking ticket.
Lesson sorely learnt I read her booklet from cover to cover after we got back. Now if I she goes anywhere I have to check online for her to ensure her BB is valid in that area.
It would help if more public car parks would allow larger vehicles with blue badges.
My principal vehicle for transporting my 93-year-old, dementia-disabled, mother is 7.49 metres long but the car parks in my local shopping areas won’t permit vehicles of that size..