Free Parking for Disabled WHY ?

[MustangLady]

Wasn't sure which topic to put this under, so here goes.... Could someone please explain to me why Registered Disabled people get Free Parking in public car-parks. Don't get me wrong I understand most things are difficult for disabled, but why is paying for parking difficult? I only found out about this only recently when i went shopping with my friend, she is registered disabled as she has arthritis with limited mobility, she can walk but not for too long distances, she needs to take regular breaks due to pain. However, she does go shopping, she does walk without aid, she also has a car through disability allowance. Why do they get Free Parking� ? There is no excuse that the parking meters are 'too far' to walk to, because the parking meter was right next to where the disabled parking bays were and having looked since it seems that most car parks have done the same. When I asked my friend why she got the 'special' treatment, she couldn't answer � she just smiled and said 'don't know but I'm not going to question it if I get it for free'. She also tells me she goes through motorways tolls (Dartford crossing) for free because being registered ? WHY, please tell me why they cannot pay like everyone else does. Bearing in mind, if I took my friend out in my car, she could bring her free parking permit with her so I can park in the disabled bay for her benefit (so she didn't have to walk too far)! In this instance, I too could have benefited from the 'free parking', is this right? I can understand those who are severely disabled and will need special benefits for the reasons of their disability, but surely each disability should be graded to just how disabled they are?!

[cazzz1975]

they may have heart or other life threatening conditions that are not visable, they do not hand out blue badges like confetti.

loftie, no Im afraid they do not hand out temporary blue badges
http://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/living/13430.html

[LoftyLottie]

Silly really, there should be a way. I have resorted to parking in Disabled Bays in supermarkets and then reporting to the Customer Services Desk and giving them my car number and explaining the situation. They have generally been OK with that.

[LoftyLottie]

My back and arthritic problems aren't visible - in fact I look like a very healthy specimen and try like made to hide the fact that I am in pain!!

[Nosha123]

WHat really narks me is when I see people using disabled parking bays when clearly they are not and have no blue badges on display! What is wrong with them - other than being utterly selfish and lazy!

You have legs... two of them.. use them!!!

Grrr..

[LoftyLottie]

Remember Nosha one of these people may be me and genuinely need to park near to a store! ;o).

I think I will campaign for temporary blue badges!!

[Nosha123]

Well maybe you are right Loftie.. but the woman that deliberatlely drove her car AT me in the supermarket carpark cos she thought I was in her way as I was trying to manouvre a dodgy trolley.. then she swept past me into a disabled bay and ran into the shop!
If you dont have a blue badge to display maybe you could use the mother/baby spaces???? You may get scowled at - but guess its not as bad as taking up a mother/baby space!

[LoftyLottie]

I have often found that the mother/baby spaces are taken up with huge 4W Drives full of adults or adults with teenage kids!!!

[LoftyLottie]

I suppose the answer would be for me to get a disabled badge permanently.

I doubt if I could get one though, one of the stipulations is that you should be unable to walk any distance. Some days I can hardly walk (I have arthritis on the top of my feet as well (ouch!) on others I can walk quite a way!!

[Davethedog]

Isn't it great to see the compassion and milk of human kindness.

As far as i'm concerned the disabled are welcome to everything the are allowed.

[jno]

can I perhaps break your legs, Lottie?

[Nosha123]

Sounds bad Lofty - I'm sorry to hear you suffer!
It would seem to me that as with a lot of things in this country - things that are intended to benefit those that need it dont - and some people that dont need the help take advantage and abuse the system.

[Robinia]

Good grief MustangLady, do you have any idea what an expensive business being disabled can be? (eg extra heating at home, paying for help for things you're unable to do yourself in the house/garden) I hope you never have to find out. Please don't begrudge these people free car parking.

[MustangLady]

I really do appreciate all the answers. Please please don't get me wrong, I do understand that a good majority of disabled people suffer in ways that I wouldn't want to and that they do need the help rightly given, but I do say MAJORITY. I also appreciate that there are people out there that abuse the system and take advantage any way they can. What my point was, not every deserves the 'freebies' they get given. Why are disabled people specifically given 'free parking', it was generally a question because I didn't know the answer. The same as Dartford Crossing, why did they get that for free? I couldn't understand this as they didn't even have to get out their cars to pay for this one? If the disabled are that disabled they couldn't lean out the window to pay at the toll booth, then surely they couldn't control the vehicle swiftly and effectively in the event of skidding in ice or in the case of avoiding a road incident etc. You have to be pretty able to to do things surely. I'm not dissing the disabled in any way, I'm just making a point and want to know reasoning behind it all. I understand it is expensive to be disabled, but so is being elderly (need more money for heating / extra care etc) so why do the pensioners for instance not get these benefits. It's expensive having children, so why do the families not get free parking/toll crossing etc. I could go on and on..... ps just for the record, I'm not disabled, elderly and have no children so none of the above that I've mentioned would benefit me, I just can't understand why certain people are singled out for little benefits like these and not others?

[Marijn]

I think they get benefits of free parking and free tolls simply because they have no other option than to drive places.
We can walk, cycle, get the train etc. So if we feel we need to save money we've got the option of NOT using the car.
They don't have that choice. So it's good that they don't have to pay for parking on top of all their other troubles.
PS They can you some trains, but not all, and they can't use the tube.

[Marijn]

I should've said, I'm talking about mobility scooter and wheelchair users.

[LoftyLottie]

I have to admit that disability in itself probably shouldn't be the only reason for getting free parking. The fact that they have priviledged parking spaces should be enough. Disablement doesn't necessarily bring poverty. However, means testing would be extremely difficult.

There do seem to be a disproportionate amount of disabled parking spaces though. It is really aggravating to spend ages waiting for a space whilst so many disabled spaces are empty.

[LoftyLottie]

You ought to live where I do notafish, virtually no public transport at all!

I do believe that a disabled person deserves the right to be able to live as normal a life as possible, with every assistance they can get. But this doesn't necessarily mean that they should expect things to be free! Being treated as normal surely means just that, and that they should pay up like the rest of us if they have the means.

[Ethel]

I know a chap with thalidomide, so he has very short arms. He works full time for the council in his capacity as a solicitor and drives an adapted car. There is no way he can put money in any slot without losing his dignity.

Having children is ones choice and a family should be properly planned for. All pensioners get help with their heating bills, regardless of personal wealth or poverty.

Just in case you didn't see my earlier reply the answer to your specific question is:

People with blue badges can legally park on double yellow lines (3 hours) and single yellow lines (unlimited) so if the council car parks charge this group of people to park, they simply park on the yellow lines obstructing the traffic.

[cazzz1975]

I still have no idea why its such a big deal what parking benefits a disabled person gets?

A disabled person has a significantly lesser quality of life and things that most able bodied people take for granted are way out of reach for a lot of disabled folk.

you should count your blessings that worrying about how much money a disabled person should pay is the most of your worries

[LoftyLottie]

I hadn't even considered the paying side of it before. All I would like is the facility to use one of the spaces when I need it (and my needs are very genuine). I would gladly pay a little extra for the use of one of the spaces too.

Actually, I could have registered as disabled many years ago and claimed benefits, but worked until retirement age Whilst I have every sympathy with truly disabled people, there are quite a few taking every advantage they can that are far less disabled than I am. I live next door to one!