Healthy people using disabled spaces.

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As a disabled person I really hate it when fit and healthy people park their cars in disabled spaces. Although some do abuse the system, most people with blue badges have them because they really need to use disabled spaces. I know people are in hurries or just lazy sometimes, but a healthy person has the choice of parking further away and walking, a lot of disabled people do not have that choice. I can walk quite well on crutches, but every step I take I am in pain, so parking nearer to a shop really does make a big difference to me.

If I do see somebody parked in a disabled space without blue badges I do have a polite word, but the replies I get back are not as polite, most just tell me to f**k off! One car I did see I did not complain to the driver, I just took a photo and sent it to the police, that may sound a little extreme, but it was a police car in the disabled space! They were VERY apologetic! If people see the police doing that it does not set a very good example. I have a lot of respect for the police, but I just think he could have thought more before parking there, especially when it was not an emergency.

The worst I have seen round here was somebody who had parked his small van across TWO DISABLED SPACES while he went to McDonalds to get his breakfast! That time I was not very polite and he was very offensive back, he really did not seem to care. His big mistake was doing it in a company van, I did get a nice written apology from the company when I reported him to them 8o).

This car I keep seeing at a place I sometimes work, normally parked in a disabled space without badges, but the day I took this they had parked across the last two spaces, meaning that I had to park a long way away. Some people just don't seem to think before parking.

Improper disabled badge use.

I do think some people who are disabled seem to think their blue badges are a permit to park anywhere, I have seen many dangerously parked cars with blue badges. These people do give disabled drivers a bad name. So if you are healthy or disabled, please think about where you park next time.

Here is a great example I saw in September 2005:

Yes, this car is parked!!! Yes it has BLUE DISABLED BADGES, but it was causing a dangerous obstruction. When she first parked it blocked a van completely and they used the horn (rather a lot!) and she just totally ignored them. They had to go back and forward loads of times until they could finally get through the gap.

Here she is, about to move the car! Was it because of the vehicles that were all struggling to get past and in and out of the junction she had obstructed? Nope it was because she saw me hanging round the car taking loads of photos! 8o) Notice how disabled she looks? There was a man in the car as well and I presume he was the disabled one, so parking there was only helping the able bodied driver. There were plenty of SAFE places where she could have parked using the badges if really needed, but she had chosen to park there. The important life or death reason for stopping there? Going to the CHIP SHOP!