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?!

[carron81]

hi

just thought i'd add my bit in here.

i think disabled spaces are great, i've read on forums in the past about folk moaning how disabled and parents and children get spaces near the doors. it makes sence to me as the amount of times i've been to the shops and all these space are full and trying to get a car seat in the car when someone has parked close to you is very difficult. it benefits both the person and the non disabled person as no scrapes on car doors from having to open the car door wide to get in and out

as for the mobilaty, i've just txt my old workmate who works in the mobilaty department. i used to work in a car garage and the amount of folk who looked fit as a fiddle the would come in and ask for mobilaty was unreal. all the car salesmen would be like there at it. they do pretty much get the car for free providing they have all the relevant paperwork and it has to be stamped by the jobcentre and they get a new one every 3 years.

my ex neighbour just got his new one a few months ago and after 57 miles he was showing me how hed crashed and damaged the bumper. his response was "thank god i'm not paying for that or the car". it was replace and is as good as new agian

my mum has bad artheritis in her hands and feet and could get all these car benefits but choses not to

[carron81]

oh yeah, forgot to write the whole point of my rant

definately think it should be graded who pays or not.

if its folk like my mum who can work and are doing normal things even though should be "classed" as disabled then they should pay

but if its people you can clearly see need help and are doing a good job being out and about then they should benefit from free parking

as long as it doesn't get abused like things like disabled spaces or parent and children - when you look in the car the child is still in it and just one person has gone into the shop

[Ethel]

Carron - they do NOT get it for free - they pay around �40 per week, every week, for three years and not have a car at the end of it.

They can of course have another new car and continue paying around �40 per week. That �40 per week is for a small, basic car. If they want a bigger, better car they pay a large lump sum up front.

So over three years they have paid over �6200 for the use of a car - they do not have a car to part exchange or sell.

So tell me - how is that free?

And perhaps those car sales people should be doctors if they are so very medically trained as to diagnose their clients disabilities - can they see a pacemaker inside the chest?

If your mother is entitled to those benefits - why isn't she claiming them? Does that make her a better person? There ARE NO CAR BENEFITS - people choose to spend the mobility component of their DLA on a car - if they don't they have the cash. I repeat - a minimum of �6200 over 3 years to lease a car - THAT IS NOT FREE.

[carron81]

she doesn't claim benefits as it has never stopped her working, going out, doing things. she's not wanting an award for it or anything like that.

she's fit and healthy and doesn't see her artheritis as a disability. she can park in the furthest away space in a car park and is more than capable of getting her shopping back to the car

where as a lot of other people would take full advantage of this. thats the folk i'm getting at

as i said, i'm waiting on my friend getting back to me on all the ins and outs of the payment situation. that wasn't my department.

but i'm paying less than that per week for a car thats so i cant see it being that. then there would be no point in that

the folk the salesmen were getting at are the people you know that are clearly at it. most of them will say it to the salesperson. at the end of the day, its a sale to them, there not fussed if the person is lagit or not

i'm not clued up on the mobility side of things but my neighbour didn't care about damaging the bumper of his car so makes you think. if i was paying money out a week for something i'd be looking after it and be gutted if i bumped it

[carron81]

hi just heard from my friend.

only half txt came through, poor signal. but from the looks of things our dealership inputs a lot of money into motability just to get the deal so that could explain why most folk don't pay anything.

i do know our boss will sell cars even though he's not making a profit just to get the deal in the hope they will come back for services, parts, accesorise etc

i worked for a big company and he has the money to do that kind of deals

[Ethel]

Everybody with a motability car pays at least �40 - every single one.
Nobody gets it for nothing - not one single person.

Your mother is not entitled to DLA as she can get around - having arithritis is not enough.

People get their cars on mobility because they can't afford to buy one and they can't get finance to buy one on usual finance terms and they need a reliable car. That is the only reason - IT IS NOT FREE FOR ANYONE.

And nobody who is fiddling the system will tell a salesman they're at it - the salesman will have all the details to make reporting them easy.

If you are intererested you can get the facts about motability here:

http://www.motability.co.uk/main.cfm?Type=CHSW

"If you receive the Higher Rate Mobility Component of the Disability Living Allowance or the War Pensioners' Mobility Supplement, getting a new car is easier and more affordable than ever. Through Motability, you simply turn part or all of your allowance into the car of your choice"

[cazzz1975]

the dealership cannot just give away free cars?! this is bizarre.

like ethel has had to say for the 8 billionth time, people who claim mobility do not get a free car!, their benefits are used to LEASE that car, the car is not theirs, they have to hand it back in the same condition that they initially leased it in.

explain to me how your dealership does what he does and I will report him.

[gelda]

I get DLA higher rate and looked into getting a car from the Motorbility but after working out how much I would have to pay I decided to get a loan for a car then at least I owned the car. Ethel is right there is no such thing as a free one, I got DLA 2 years ago and the cheapest car then was �40 pw.

[Mctavish]

I cannot believe that anyone would actually begrudge someone with a blue badge not having to pay for parking.
Blue badges are not given out willy nilly and the final say on the approval is with the doctor.
The one thing that really makes me cross is when a car pulls into a disabled space, the driver gets out his paper and settles down to have a read and his passenger then nips into the store to do the shopping. He could just as easily read his paper in an ordinary space.
I am disabled and I have a blue badge for which I am very thankful.

[Funintegras]

A question I always ask yet no one will fix. The citys loose so much money and they dont see it. They rather close down schools than to charge a fat person $2 for an hour of parking. Most placard are issued to city employees, (fat ones/ Lazy ones) and government employees (same criteria) and people who have a good connection with doctors who fear of loosing a patient. Keep in mind, there are some ligitiment users of the placard who really need closer parking. But most of them just got it because they have a connection somewhere.
But for all not having to pay for parking is just not right. Paying for parking should be the same for all. If your on a disability pay, then maybe you get a different color placard to not pay but at least have them observe the posted time limit.