disabled bays

Last night I was visiting my friend who is ill in the BRI, ( city centre hospital in Bristol) There are about 3 spaces disabled spaces for the whole hospital , none free, all the double yellow lines are loading only ones so you cant even park on there, and I was forced to park much further than was comfortable. so when I got to the front doors of the hospital in pain and grumpy, there was the local points west film crew and the health correspondent about to start filming and guess where they had parked?! yep, in the only free disabled bay!!

I complained to him and he dismissed me with a weave of his hand as he was about to start filming, poor excuse and as health correspondent wouldnt you think he would know better?

Recently I was watching antique road trip and they parked their vintage car in a clearly marked disabled bay. I have emailed both the BBC and points west and with any luck i was filmed complaining!

I wish there was a way of stopping the abuse of spaces. I thought once of printing some mock parking tickets so at least they think for a moment they have one, and explaining why they shouldnā€™t park there . I do sometimes challenge people that are obviously abusing the spaces, but to be honest, they havce been so rude, i m not sure its worth raising my blodd pressure.

Carolyn

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Carolyn,

I see you have complained to the BBC but a letter/email to the local newspaper would not go amiss, with a copy to the hospital, of course. Itā€™s a story the paper may well take up. Shame on the BBC health correspondent.

I just hope the BBC Complaints department takes this seriously, as they should, and drops a metaphorical ton of bricks on the heads of the Points West team. You should also be royally compensated.

It is a serious issue but, taking the lead from our noble government and, in particular, the saintly IDS, looking after the needs of the disabled is of little interest and can be dismissed with a shrugā€¦

Alun

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Good on you for complaining. I would have limped passed and not said a thing but feeling extremely annoyed and have steam coming out of my ears. What an arrogant twat! And yes he should have known better unless he is disabled as they do have disabled correspondents.

Mags xx

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And hereā€™s George Osborne in a disabled bayā€¦

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W*nker

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I think thereā€™s a web site where you can post actual pictures of cars with no permit parked in disabled spaces.

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I really do not like him, but just look at how old this article is !!

Maybe enough was said 3 years ago to make sure this kind of abuse didnā€™t happen again ?

Dom

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He seems to make a habit of itā€¦

ā€¦another article from 2013 !! So, nothing up-to-date then ? Surely thatā€™s a small step in the right direction ?

Dom

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Sorry thatā€™s just my automatic response whenever I see or hear his name.

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Last day I was coming out of the leisure centre, a lady and her two kids parked in the last disabled space and ā€œranā€ into the leisure centre - I got into my car - got a scrap of paper and wrote ā€œwhereā€™s your blue badge?ā€ and stuck it under her wiperā€¦ i see this all the time and it really riles meā€¦

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and they are teaching it to the next generation as wellā€¦

Hi Anon,
You fall foul of the blue badge criteria - or rather, the way they are worded. All that seems to matter is walking distance, needing space to get in and out does not.
So, you play the game the way the rules are written.
Can you consistently walk more than 20 metres without any aids? And without having to stop for a rest?

So you need a stick. You have to stop after about 10 metres for a short rest. Uneven surfaces can usually trip you.
Apply for that badge!

And to be practical:
Download the application form (either two copies or copy it).
Fill one in in pencil
Watch out for weasel wording - particularly on questions about distance.
Gather all the bits and pieces - photo, proof of ID, proof of residence (BBs are issued by your local authority, even if a company does all the processing). Make sure that you do not look young and fit in the photo.
Apply online but do not send any cash.
After two weeks, email your local authority BB department and ask how the application is going.
They will probably ask how you are going to pay ā€¦

Geoff

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Totally agree with Carolyn,

People putting blue badge up then leaving the owner of the badge in the car annoys me.

Good advice Geoff.

I wrote down all my hospital appointments with OTs MS nurse.

Dates of when I bought my stick, referred for FES, automatic car etc, etc.

Emphasised it was a life long progressive condition. I have to open my car door wide to lift my leg in/out of the car.

About to fill form in for renewal, bracing myself for that 20+ page document.

Anon should apply.

Jen x

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sorry Jen, I have to disagreeā€¦ What if the badge holder fell ill in the car. The other person may need to make a speedy exit to attend or ambulance was called. If they needed to exit in case of emergency then the space may be needed to get out. There is always a chance.

paul

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When our Asda was newly built, they installed something underneath each disabled parking bay. It was a pad that sensed a car arriving and said in a loud voice dont forget to display your blue badge.

They also had staff patrol the bays to see if they were properly used. When there was no blue badge, they would issue a Ā£60 penalty ticket. These 2 systems were implemented for a whileā€¦but not very longā€¦it upset customers too much, who said they would stop shopping at Asda! Nice!

pollx

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Not displaying the blue badge while parked in a disabled bay is one of my major gripes. I carry some blank stickers in my car which are difficult to remove, i write a polite message and attach it to the drivers side window. If people are so inconsiderate when parking maybe the 10 - 15 minutes it takes them to remove the sticker will give them time to reflect on their behaviour.

mike

HA! People donā€™t like it when they get their wrist slapped for ignoring rules and regs, do they!

Hmmā€¦I agree that people shouldnā€™t abuse the spaces when others need them but no one has considered whether the any of the Road Trip people might be entitled to a badge.

i canā€™t drive, mainly due to my vision, and I am entitled to a badge. A couple of times weā€™ve had a fine for forgetting to display the badge. My husband usually unloads kids and itā€™s my ā€˜jobā€™ to put up my badge. Brain fog can make me forget. Iā€™d be really upset if I was then punished by one of the disabled community by a sticker etc for something that is partly the outcome of my disability. We donā€™t keep badge on show all of the time as my husband is not the badge holder so only for when I am in car.

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On one occasion I parked in a disabled space and went in to B&Q, finished my shopping, and returned to my car which happened to be an automatic Mazda MX5 with hand controls. I was sitting in the car and a couple went past, commenting on the type of cars they were allowing ā€œcripplesā€ to drive nowadays. When they had gone into B&Q I wrote a note which read, ā€œWhen you have MS you may wake each day with the hope that today you might just feel great and get through the day with no pain. You, on the other hand, are going to wake each morning for the rest of your life, look in the mirror, and see a total fuc*wit looking back at youā€. It may have been childish but God, did it make me feel better. Actually it was a good outcome for them as my 17 stone, 6ā€™6" son had something totally different in mind.

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