Good morning everyone, i hope you are all well.
Just a quick question about blue badges … how many of you have them? and how bad are your symptoms?
My symptoms are not too bad at all really but I do get very tiered and I was wondering if it would be worth me applying. Mainly for the reason that I have a mile to walk to and from the station so parking there would be handy. But then I dont want to be targeted by old ladies thinking I shouldnt be parking there??
Hi Chelsey,
If you look on the blue badge website it gives you ideas of level of disability. You can fill the form in online then they write to
your doctor. I struggle to walk 100 yards so managed to get one State how you are at your worst .Very useful but I only park in disabled spaces if I really
have to.
Have had people watching me get out the car - then seeing me hobbling along they walk on.
If you are entitled to one then you should get one and not feel guilty.
good luck, Jen
If you can walk a mile you haven’t any grounds to get a blue badge. They expect you to have higher rate DLA for mobility and that requires that you can walk only 50/100 metres without pain.
Liz
I know it’s a bit unusual (and I was astonished at the time), but when I first applied for my blue badge I explained that, while I could walk normally, my fatigue was off the scale on some days so that I could hardly walk at all - plus that my mother was disabled so I’d learned to hate badge cheats so I would never misuse a badge if they gave me one, i.e. I would only use my badge on my bad days. They gave me one!
Fate(?) then decided to put its oar in and within a couple of months I started a mammoth relapse which left me high rate disability from then on though
Karen x
Hi, I have a blue badge and am a full time wheelchair user.
Is that all you wanted to know?
luv Pollx
Apply for it, you don’t know if they will give you one until you do. I have a badge and get high rate mobility DLA. When i first applied for it, I could walk unaided most of the time - admittedly not very far, using a stick sometimes. Now I use two sticks and I’m waiting for my first wheelchair to be delivered.
Luisa x
Hi, I have a blue badge but I do not receive higher rate dla. When you apply for a badge you are asked to go to an interview and as part of that interview you are asked to walk a bit so they can assess you. It’s not as scary as it sounds and the woman doing my interview was really nice, she made sure I didn’t push myself and encouraged me just take it at my own pace. As always fill out your form based on your worst day and hopefully you will be lucky (as I was) and be assessed by someone who understands the nature of ms. Best of luck Zoe x
Blue badges are awarded by local councils and there does appear to be a bit of disparity between how they are awarded
I had mine before I was awarded DLA and I didn’t have an interview, so it does vary.
If you need it, apply for it.
Good Luck!
It does depend on where you live from what country to even what local authority you live in. Best to put down what your ability is on your worst day. YOu never know one day you may really need it! I only use mine when I need it. thankfully most days I dont use it but it is reassuring it is there for when I may need it.
Hello,
For me the crucial question on the form was ‘Can you walk more than 100m on a level flat surface unaided’.or words to that effect. I assume that if the answer was ‘yes’ then I would not get a blue badge. I couldn’t then and I certainly cannot now.
Its a bit like the Postcode lottery.
To be perfectly honest if you reckon you can walk a mile to and from the the station each day and not be a physical wreck then I do not think you have got much chance. I agree with efb or liz.
Refards,
Patrick
Hi, I also agree that if you can walk a mile then you don’t sound like a likely candidate for a blue badge, however you are saying that if you had one you could park at the station and I understand where you are coming from with that. Why don’t you say that when you apply. Cheryl:-)
Hi Chelsey.
Like the others have said - if you can walk a mile, then you don’t have much chance. The rules are changing, but most councils have a practice of comparing your application to a checklist. Someone posted here recently, that if you do the application on-line it will even be scored by computer. So if the criterion is 100 yards unaided, and you put down 1000 -that’s your chance gone. My council works in metres, and compares distances to the lengths of a double decker bus, so you can see how scientific it is. The new routine may involve an external assessor - we do not know yet.
But, not just for you, but for everyone, here is my new dilemma:
For me, the big thing about a blue badge is the extra space to get the car door wide open to get in and out,
Mine is up for renewal soon.
Without any aids, I can only walk a few metres (les than a bus length). With two walking sticks, that goes up to about 50 metres before I need to rest, and if I switch my FES on then it more than doubles.
What distance do I put down?
Geoff
Hello Geoff,
You put down the distance you can walk unaided.
Hope that helps - oh yes take a look at my website aid4disabled.com If you have a facebook page then please ‘like’ the my page, and ‘like’ my ‘posts’;
Regards
Parick
Hi
I have a blue badge, got it about 3 months ago. best thing ever really, it just means I can get to placess without feeling done in before I get here. I cant walk 100 meter`s, So a mile forget it. Keep walking your mile. One of these days I will walk a mile to.
Hello Skydiver,
A Blue Badge is a huge help to me in so many ways;. OK I’m not allowed to drive (thankyou MS) but my wife can park the car in places where I can open the car door fully (essential), I can park close to where I’m going. There are an exceptionally good idea.
I do see people abusing them but don’t want to get into a fight or arguement. Can a traffic warden take any action if I blue badge is being used under false pretences? I once saw a Range Rover park in a disabled space, display a blue badge, and 2 young people get out and run into a shopping mall, When did you last see a disabled person run? Umm…
Patrick
Unfortunately it is impossible to judge by appearances, I remember chatting to a security guard at work and he had thought exactly the same thing. Turned out the guy doing the running was a double leg amputee and running was the easiest way to move on his prosthetic legs.
Blue Badge abuse is appalling but appearances can be deceptive.
We have a Range Rover. Ok I can’t run but perhaps the person with the BB has epilepsy and is not allowed out alone - or terminal cancer - or mental health issues. Shall I continue?
Don’t judge a book by its cover.
Liz
local authorities issue them
i got mine and few weeks later refused dla so just go ahead and try
Hello,
Yes I hear what you are saying (prosthetics epilepsy etc) but one of the qualifications of getting a blue badge so that you can park in a disabled space is that you are unable to walk more than 100 M unaided. They ran more than 100 M.
I apologise for mentioning the car type, a complete irrelevance
Patrick