Blue Badges

Lin · Blue Badges

At the risk of upsetting a lot of people .....not too hard for me!!
Have the town planners got a hidden agenda somewhere?.
I am ,luckily ,reasonably able bodied but have family members who are not so fortunate.
I have noticed that unless you have a blue badge ,there is no where to park in the town.Loading bays by the bucketload ,yellow lines aplenty ,disabled parking ....seems more than there used to be ,but where are we meant to park ??.
Went to the Library yesterday ,there are two disabled bays there and 5 ordinary ones,two spaces empty (one disabled and one ordinary),a car with a blue badge in front of me ,I sat and waited for them to park and was going to park in the ordinary bay....not so ...they parked in the ordinary bay (now I had waited 4-5 minutes for them to get in the flipping box ).I asked if they could move into the disabled bay and was met with a barrage full of abuse Shocked

(didn't realise the elderly were soooo rude!!!)I asked nicely you know.So left the car park and paid 1.30 to park up the other car park for a grand total of 11 minutes.We also got soaked by the rain Crying or Very sad

but had to take books back or have a fine as seax was not working.
Now what makes me mad is that if I parked in the disabled space I would get a ticket ,but it's ok for them to do this ,not to mention that they can park on the road outside the Library as it is a single yellow.
What is going on ??? I really am for making the town and its surrounding area disabled friendly but it would seem if you don't have a badge ,you aint getting in ...or you can at a hugely inflated price of paying for the two dismal dirty ,glass ridden car parks.
Sorry have the hump ,not going to bother with the town now ,I'm off to Ipswich to do my shopping as there are plenty of parking spots there and it's quicker in the long run as it only takes half hour to drive there unlike Clacton where you can drive round for hours and give up.
Right off to take cover from those I may have upset..........

Lin

Or....I may just pop over to Harwich ...get ready for the rain all you Harwich lot!!!!!

mojo

Blue Badge holders:
Every now and then it's in the local news or on local news television about badge holders complaining about being fined for not displaying their badge correctly.
I get really cross about this.
When a person is given a Blue Badge they also receive a booklet explaining where and when they can park. It also tells the holder how to display their badge.
I have no sympathy for the complainers. They should read the booklet!!!

As for the people Lin mentions parking in the library car park - she has raised an
issue. This has happened to me in Supermarkets.

If these people insist on parking in non-disabled spaces, then why do they show their badges?

ivan burit · badges - badges, we dont need no stinking badges........

Sorry about the header, its from blazing saddles............

OK, on the latest issue Parking Card for disabled People (blue badge)
not only does the front page have printed at the top..

.....Front - Display this side up.........
but also now has hologram logo under a serial number that makes it very difficault to forge...

Now this is all very well, but if a stubborn grumpy older person refuses to display this instrument to park in a sensable manner, then a quick word in parking enforcements ear may be needed to correct the grumpy older persons ways.....

pepsi

Ah, Blue Badge Holders....

At the risk of continuing to upset them Ivan I would add that I get really cross at the number of people who abuse the Blue Badge system.

The number of times I have watched the good old people carrier stop on yellow lines or park in a disabled space and then seen able bodied Mum, Dad and couple of kids leap out and race across the road, is unbelievable.

This sort of abuse deprives the genuinely disabled of well placed parking bays and is totally selfish.

A thought, maybe the blue badge holder that you encountered, parked in a normal bay because s/he did not actually have a disabled passenger on board, in which case they should not be displaying the blue badge.

See where I am coming from ?....

Lin

Hi Pepsi
I did think that too ,but the chappie who was driving told me otherwise ,he said he could park where he wants ,(which is true I suppose )but it was his face on the photo on the blue badge(displayed incorrectly ,I might add),and he too seemed to have the Lazarus treatment as he had no trouble getting up the stairs inthe Library .....
I am not moaning about Blue Badge holders in general ,just saying that we are meant to give them some respect but there was none shown to anyone else.
Outside the Library are single yellow lines (which are closer to the entrance than the car park)there are also two big bays for them to use too so why take up the other 5 spaces ???.

ivan burit

Its a bit old, but i found this for Lin...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/lookeast/con...stigation_bluebadge_feature.shtml

mojo

Having read the website Ivan posted for Lin, I have to say that, as an ex-Blue Badge holder, it is *not* horrendously difficult to apply for one.
To get one for the first time my GP had to agree that I needed one and that was it. When renewal time came I just applied for it and got one straightaway.

What I feel strongly about is the use of them by people who shouldn't be.
For instance, when my mother died my brother-in-law used hers for his convenience (he had no need for one) for the remaining time it had.
Surely, when someone dies, in this day and age of various departments 'talking' to each other via computer, when the benefits/pensions department is notified of a death then, the social services dept (who issue the badges) could be notified also and ask that the badge be returned.

Another thing I have pondered about: A badge costs about £2 for three years. Surely this is about the cheapest thing available these days? As most of the people needing a badge will be on some sort of benefit, I'm sure the cost could be increased to maybe £30 (ie £10 a year) and so give the S/Services extra revenue to spend?

ivan burit

I do see your point Mojo, and i must agree some disabled even get a free motor car through mobility.
But, some only get the barest minimum to live on, even having to pay most of the regular costs involved in travelling to london to specialist hospital care, which at roughly £30 a time does get a bit expensive, but unfortunatly, it has to be done.
This i can assure you of.
Another valid point which makes it difficault for the "untrained" eye to spot, is, unless you have actually had the many years training in the medical profession, in all honesty you cannot judge just who is ill or not simply by looking at a person if he walks..
Ok, if he runs and jumps for joy, his legs seem to be working ok, but what about inside his body, the unseen illnesses, the illnesses of the mind, illnesses that can leave one so out of breathe that after a while, walking and breathing becomes not just a nightmare but a battle to breathe.....
The list is endless..

Ok, at the other end of the scale, as in all lifes cheaters, we do get some who are "diplomatic" with the truth when applying for a blue badge, but, as our rulling government are now on a massive drive to get a large percentage of income support claimants back into some form of daily work, this just might sort out those that are unfairly abusing the systems in place that give genuine help to those that need it....

pepsi

I agree totally with Mojo about those using them who should not be.

Many people get a blue badge for a disabled relative or friend so that they can help them get to the shops etc. The point is that this badge should only be used when the actual oerson with the disability is travelling in the vehicle and what actually happens is that son/daughter etc, use the badge all the time, even when the person they are supposed to be helping is not with them.

It is this sort of abuse that makes me so angry!.

Nikadi

ivan burit

.."As a learner driver, what I find more annoying is the blue badge holders who decide to park right at the corner of a road, when there is a good 100 yards behind that spot free. Parking right on the corner is ridiculously dangerous, yet because they have a blue badge they can get away with it! -_-

Nikadi, 1st :- whenever a new recipient of a blue badge recieves it, a booklet explaining the rules of just you where you can park is enclosed in the pack sent.
2nd :- the rules of the highway code expressly forbid parking on the bends of road juntions and corners, even in town the marked out excempt parking areas for blue badge holders have to comply with not parking on the corners or the first50 or so yards into Pallester Road, or wherever..
this is achieved by the kerb being painted with twin vertical yellow lines at spaced intervals, denoting no stopping, loading, or parking whatsoever..
So, next time bad parking happens to restrict you, give enforcement the nod as to "remind" the offending parkers of their responceabilities and legalities of being the holder of a parking concession instrument..= the blue badge.....phew...lol..

OH, something else i just remembered...
On the packed London Tube trains, there are clearly marked seats for "the disabled" to use....try getting a nice comfy passenger out of one for half an hour on the trip out of central london in the evening rush hour when you have queued up like sardines just to get on the train in the first place............what you do get is lots of blank looks though......lol...

amenity

**** UN FUNDED & Politicaly Free *****
(so in real terms, i`m broke, and no one will have me)
Wishing all our loyal and funny post`ees a merry christmas and a better new year.

Glad I fall into this category, trouble is when you agree with or disagree with a political view others assume to know that you are attached to some idealogy.

Happy New Year to all.

Nikadi

Nice to know =D What I do want to know is, why doesn't that stupid traffic warden not ticket them?! He's always walking around Ellis Road area, but the prat only ever tickets people blocking the entrance of St Helena Hospice car park, which is good, but I wish he'd sort out the people on the other side of that block in Roasemary Road :/

Blue Badges

badges - badges, we dont need no stinking badges........