Blue badges are a lifeline for disabled drivers and passengers, allowing them the ease of parking and helping them to feel settled in society. However, because these badges enable people to park for free in pay and display bays in certain areas, plus for up to 3 hours on yellow lines if it safe and not an obstruction, makes them a huge target for thieves.
Recent statistics have shown that blue badge theft in England has quadrupled in 4 years with nearly 3000 stolen in 2016-17 compared to 650 in 2013. The numbers from 2013 were still 14% higher than 2012, showing a steady increase over time. The Department for Transport has attributed 98% of these thefts to people wanting to be able to park for free and in priority spots.
Substantial figures
The biggest number of burglaries happened in London, with 196 stolen in Islington, equating to 26 in every thousand blue badges taken. Theft rate is higher in the congestion zone as blue badge holders can apply for exemption from the congestion charge, as it is harder for them to walk around London.
English councils can take legal action against those who are misusing a blue badge, either via theft or by borrowing it from a friend or family member.Last year 1,131 motorists were taken through this process. In fact, the Department for Transport reports showed that 2016 saw an 84% surge in prosecutions for misuse of a blue badge.
New plans to be introduced
Around 2.4 million people hold a blue badge in England, and they allow people to visit the shops and to see friends without having to worry about their mobility causing issues once they reach their destination. There are plans to offer these to another million drivers with hidden disabilities such as autism and dementia. These plans could help individuals to feel more comfortable in situations that they might otherwise find upsetting.
Hopefully, it will help them to feel less anxious about putting their safety at risk should they not be able to park in a predictable and convenient place. This would be the most significant change to blue badge rules since they were introduced in 1970, and calls have been made for clear and consistent guidelines to be put in place, to stop fraud and theft. At present, many authorities are only happy to give people blue badges if they have issues with their mobility, but this new rule would give them the freedom to base their decision on other factors too.
What do you think?
At PetrolPrices.com we carried out a Facebook poll on whether people think that blue badge holders should be allowed to park for free in hospitals. 33% of people said that they should, with the other 67% of people disagreeing. However, some comments suggested that people thought that no one should have to pay if they were legitimately visiting the hospital. This raised the issue that people will park in free hospital car parks near to town centres to go shopping, meaning that patients find it harder to park.
However, the Scottish government scrapped hospital parking charges in 2008 for patients and NHS staff, and this saved people more than £25 million over seven years which relieved many individuals of the financial burden that extra costs at a difficult time can cause. This is in contrast to the record £174 million that the NHS made from charging patients in England during 2016-17, with more than half of trusts charging disabled people to park.
It is important that people are aware that borrowing blue badges from friends of relatives counts as misuse and that they could be prosecuted. As they are such high value due to the cost of parking and driving today, it may be that we continue to see the number being stolen continue to rise.
What do you think of the new plans for blue badges? Do you think that the number of thefts will continue to rise? Let us know in the comments?
It’s as much about getting a space as saving the cost of parking. How often have you been unable to get a space in a busy car park but there are loads of empty disabled bays? My friend legitimately has a badge and I am always amazed at where he can park in central London – single yellows are the best. People are stealing these because people will buy them. Something needs to be done to provide more parking for us honest drivers. This war on drivers councils are waging will never be won – many of us NEED our cars
“How often have you been unable to get a space in a busy car park but there are loads of empty disabled bays?”
Never. But I’ve often been unable to access a disabled bay when I needed it and had to go home because all the bays were occupied. Only some of them by blue badge holders.
You may need your car – but you can walk a distance. I can’t. If I can’t park within a reasonable distance of where I need to be, I can’t go and do what I need to. I get to go home and have to hope I can do it another day.
Order online, use mobile banking, problem solved. An able bodied person might legitimately query why they should have to contribute their tax money to paying for vehicles, servicing and insurance of such for disabled people when said able bodied person cannot afford to purchase one themselves. Why does an accident of genetics or luck entitle a person to a better quality of life than their apparently more lucky counter part. Let’s wait for the thumbs down from the liberals on this one.
I don’t consider my disability as being lucky! I would happily swop places with you as I also have to pay for my own vehicle, tax, insurance and servicing costs.
I already shop and bank online, but also want to be able to leave my home occasionally to have a social life – or is that not allowed?
hi Yes i get the car as a disabled person and yes it comes from motability which by the way is a charity, and would give it up tomorrow to be free of the constant pain i suffer, with out that help i would be house bound and have very little interation with other people as i live alone, so you say that i should not have the help that enables me to live a more normal life, god help you if you ever find your self in need
“better quality of life”
Clear evidence that this individual is deluded.
Paul, I just hope you never have the need for this facility, I have been disabled for 36 years, after a stroke so I can no longer walk without a stick, and only use my right side of my body,( I am LEFT handed). Thankfully I can still drive using an automatic car, so parking is essential to my everyday life. My wife cannot and has not driven in her life, so should she be made to pay for taxies because my stroke left me with inadequacies of mobility?
We still have to pay for our vehicles as they do not come free, and that is on top of our fuel costs,
Clarity….
A mobility car is paid for out of the DLA/PIP component. Depending on the type of car, it can be no upfront payment to just below £3000. Your weekly payments are sent straight from DWP to mobility.
Despite this happening, I have read on the disability website, that in some areas the councils have removed funding of direct payment hours for shopping and socialising saying that the money for this comes from your mobility allowance.
Guess it’s really fun not being able to get to places but now having the sting in the tail with having to pay out of your own pocket for your carer to take you shopping or to take you to see people.
How can you pay them if you do not receive the mobility allowance as it goes straight to the mobility people!
Obviously a comment from someone in society who doesn’t give a toss about anything but their own little self important world. Wake up Paul. You could need one sometime
Paul your comment is an extremely ignorant one. A lot of disabled people can’t work due to their disabilities and so would never be able to afford their own car, I suspect you have no problem being able to afford one. I guess us disabled aren’t allowed independence and any sort of social life through no fault of our own. Stop being selfish as I bet your life is a hell of a lot better than mine.
Yes I think misuse will rise, the council put in a disabled bay for my neighbor he doesn’t use it he parks his 2 cars in residents bays and leaves disabled bay for his friends and family to use. He is effectively taking up 3 parking spaces on a very congested road and he rarely moves his cars. One has been sitting for over a year the other is a camper he only uses in the summer. Now I understand those with real needs should be looked after but blatant misuse like this causes a lot of resentment.
Report him.
I have a disabled bay outside my house here in Dudley. To park my mobility vehicle in that bay I must display a council parking permit in my car relating to my address which is printed on the permit. It has very strong adhesive which prevents it being moved to another vehicle. Maybe your council should introduce a similar ‘Permit Holder Only’ system then only his main vehicle would be allowed to park in that bay.
Maybe Parking Wardens should spend a little time at disable bays, and see if the badge holder is actually with the car using the badge
Then you should report him!
Exemption from congestion charges were originally only for people in receipt of the mobility component of DLA at the highest rate. If this rule hadn’t been changed, blue badge theft would still be low in the congestion charge areas.
I thought exemption was only for those who were on higher rate mobility. When did that change*?
The system is abused, a lot of people have blue badges who should not have them, a lot of older people who think they have a right. A wide space should not be taken by blue badge holders! These spaces are for wheelchair users which should be enforced. There are to many people who will take things just for the sake of it being there, without heavy fines in place it will continue. Follow the USA and in shopping areas tow people away who have no badge or are abusing the system.
Robin, firstly a wide space is not just needed for a wheelchair, its there so the door can be opened wide enough to allow disable people to enter and exit easily without some car door right up along side, if you was disabled you would know this, check your facts first before making stupid comments.
I agree. I have an arthritic hip (but no blue badge), and sometimes find it difficult to get in and out of my car even when the door’s open wide.
I also have an arthritic hip and applied for a blue badge. I did get it and have to struggle on crutches. When I have had my hip operation and can walk again with just a stick, I’ll return it cheerfully. I have used the spaces without the blue badge when taking my neighbour to the shop and she didn’t have her badge with her. Another friend could walk without a stick,but had a heart condition and couldn’t walk very far.and had a blue badge for that reason.
If they are going to extend the scheme to more users, thy will have to increase the number of bays available.
Blue Badges are not issued just on the grounds a person needs more space to egress or ingress with the door wide open. This is stated in the notes when applying & not taken into account when one attends the assessment visit prior to badge being issued.
I agree BUT having said that, if supermarkets, councils etc weren’t so greedy and made parking bays BIGGER (just as cars are bigger than they were in the 70s but the bays ARENT) then there would be no need for wider bays for ANYONE. to see what I mean, try comparing the size of a 1970s Ford Cortina or Escort (for example) against the size of the new Mondeo or Focus (their modern equivalents) and you will find on the older cars in current bays the door can be opened virtually to its limit without hitting the next car in the next bay (assuming the car is of similar size in width etc, so a 60s/70s car next to a 60s/70s car) whereas if I park my Mondeo central in a bay in the local supermarket next to another Mondeo (again parked dead central in the bay) its almost IMPOSSIBLE (possibly even IS impossible) for me to get out of my car!
Nick I am very aware of disabilities obviously more then you… Wide spaces for wheelchairs are flat for a very good reason so the wheels can move without toppling over. A disabled person that can stand does not need it to be flat and can quite easily get in next to steps etc and in a lot of cases without the need of opening the door fully. whereas the wheelchair user cannot!!
Although I now use a mobility scooter – even before I did that, I was perfectly at liberty to use a disabled bay (unless it specifically stated ‘wheelchair users only’) as I need to be able to open my door wide in order to be able to get in or out of my car without hurting myself.
I agree that the system is abused, and far too many non-badge holders think the badge is a perk – instead of stopping to think what difficulties a person has to live with in order to qualify for a blue badge.
I’d happily give my blue badge allocation (along with my disability benefits) to anyone who wants to take my disability and all its affects from me and let me be a normal, healthy, abled-bodied person again.
Since my daughter became wheelchair dependent due to a spinal injury I never gave this issue much thought, but now I witness misuse of disabled parking places each week as my daughter attends a leisure centre and invariably is unable to park as able bodied parents are using them while waiting to collect their children from swimming or gym sessions, this is extremely fustraing as she needs the extra width parking space to enable her to transfer into her wheelchair. Also she doesn’t mind paying to park as our council charges blue badge holders in their public car parks as she requires the extra width bays, the problem she incurs are that the payment machines are too high for her to reach in order to place her money in!!! Fortunately they are now introducing payment via the phone which works providing there is phone reception which isn’t always the case.im afraid I disagree that able bodied people are going to be entitled to use the widened parking place as these spaces are vital to those with the use of wheelchairs as I know from experience that regular parking spaces aren’t viable for wheelchair transfer.
I am a driver for a blue badge owner and I understand you can register up to 3 vehicles to use the blue badge.
Surely with the use of technology parking attendants, police or other officials should be able to access an online database for registered vehicles. They could create an app, an online portal, or automated phone line where the owner could select which of the 3 vehicles they want to use before they travel in order that all 3 vehicles are not active simultaneously.
This would remove the need for displaying a badge that would put the vehicle at an increased risk of being broken into and the badge stolen.
Incorrect! Blue badge holder can use the badge in any car he is traveling in. It’s the person who is issued the badge, not the vehicle.
Well perhaps therein lies the solution – i.e it should be issued to the person AND vehicle (perhaps up to 2 vehicles for that same person).
It is so obvious that an online database with the driver & vehicle details which is accessible by the authorities is the answer. The holder of the BB should have access to update the vehicle by phone or online. Then BB theft would be futile.
This is incorrect the blue badge is not registered to any car and the holder does not have to state which car they are using
I have just applied to renew my Blue Badge and there was a section on the application form for 3 registration numbers.
I don’t have a problem with blue badge scheme being extended to some people with mental health problems. What I don’t understand is why they don’t have to pay for their parking space. If the badge holders were charged to park then surely that would stop thrives targeting the badge, as the only benefit would be to a disabled driver i:e closer parking.
Many carparks charge for parking. The only advantage in some is they allow you an extra hour
They need to differentiate between the disabilities.
Mobility users keep blue as have wheelchair emblem on but also people who are unable to walk long distances such as 50 yards like with lung or heart conditions.
The old Orange badges, these could be reinstated with micrichips – people who have a disability but can walk but need to be nearer, so like blind people or those with learning disabilities, who have a carer to assist them, but are able to walk. They would still have designated parking spaces but would not be beside the shops so might be at the end of the road, etc.
Then there would be a final category for hidden disability users that are deemed needing specific parking nearby, that do not drive but do need to have security such as those with mental health issues like say anxiety, Where they suddenly become unable to be at the place….(this was a story last year, that the badge had been taken away after 20+ years under the new rules….I can understand why, the blue badge was purely for mobility issues rather than what he got it for).
Many responders actually said that it wasn’t a blue badge he needed but a bus pass. Perhaps for those who would fall in this category, maybe as they are able to still get tobAcco from B bus passes might be a solution.
Who knows, but the system needs further tweaking.
To me, the best would be swiping, because you let them through, clamp them and make them pay both financial and community payback.
It is not only in car parks that the blue badge has benefits as you can park on double yellow lines for 3hours free
There is not enough policing on these badges for a start. WHY not have the registration of the car on the badges? Tow cars away that have no badge or abusing the system. Too many drivers use the disabled bays because they are wider and do not want to get their cars damaged. The poor disabled person needing a wheelchair does not then have the room to get out the car and have the wheelchair put together.
I agree with you
There is not enough policing of anything so many get away with anything all the time Blue Badge misuse just adds to a long list
The reason they do not have the reg no on the badge is for those disabled people who do not or cannot drive, so that they can be driven by relatives or friends.
It is impossible to display the vehicle number. The blue badge is for the person who is registered disabled. Not the car.
Blue badges are issued to a disabled person, not a vehicle. My daughter does not drive. She carries her badge in her handbag and displays it in whatever vehicle in which she has been given a lift.
If blue badges are being stolen by breaking into cars why not register them through the D V L A with the car registration and do away with displaying them . I realise that the badge can be used in any car not owned by the card holder but if the blue badge is displayed it is asking to be stolen. Come on you technical boffins get working on a solution.
This solution will not work. I have two friends who have blue badges but do not own cars and cannot drive. When I or another friend gives them a lift they put the blue badge in the windscreen of the car which they are in, to enable the driver to park near-enough to their destination.
Why can’t you drop them at the door then go and park. Unless they are a child or vulnerable elderly. I have a blue badge for a lung condition, I can only walk 20 ft without a stop but if my son takes me out he drops me at the door you can’t use the badge if the disabled person is not in the car.
It would work if there was an online database where they could just update the car they are in that day either by phone or online.
As a blue badge holder I find the ability to park more conveniently invaluable. I note the comment that there are not enough mother and toddler spaces. Probably correct but still galling to see the last disabled space taken by a giant 4 X 4 driven by a mum with a teenager. Hey ho. These spaces also seem popular with white van drivers and taxis. Are they all wheel chair bound? I find that hard to believe. Mercifully, parking is free for cancer patients at our local hospital. Hurrah!
ChrisH states that there are loads of disabled bays…but empty my experience they usually occupied by builders vans, delivery vans and boy racers vehicles not displaying blue badges, the abuse is rife, not enough monitoring of disabled bays
I have a badge and as a now disable person can see the other side of the coin. I cannot for the life of me work out what use having the picture of the holder on the reverse side of the badge is to anyone. I went into a car park the other day and the driver in front of me swung into a disabled space dived out of the car locked it and ran up the road. Yes she had a badge displayed but who on earth am I or the man in the car park to know if it’s her badge. If I could run like that I would have no need for my badge. This is what makes people cross as I’m sure we all view badges are for people who can’t walk very well or who are wheelchair bound. Point is had the picture been on the front then the man in the car park (who was astonished on how she took off) could have challenged her (supposing he could have run fast enough).
I agree put the picture on the front of the badge
No, it is contained within the microchip. The reason I believe is not shown whilst parked is so that in the event of a challenge, a comparison can be done with the person in front of you, then they showing you the card and Then confirming that both the person in front of them and the picture on the back of the badge are identical.
I agree with other posters that the picture should not be displayed as it could be dangerous. I find it is looked at by the toll booth people more.
I am Disabled, COPD 3 Heart Attacks Vascular Problems. People say I look well. So some people don’t show that they are Disabled. I often see younger people get out of small sports cars. and walk briskly up the road, and wonder what their disability is . So I agree that the photo should be displayed . And the badge holder should be with that vehicle
Reason you see some run is cause of this hidden disability they no longer have to have mobility issues to have a blue badge so someone who vacancy run/walk perfect but got hidden disability can park close to shops ect also there is a long number on front of badge and it’s month and year of birth of person who badge it is and there’s a X for a man and Y for a woman.
Instead of pursuing the small minority who abuse their blue badge status, much more should be done to prosecute those selfish motorists who use disabled spaces without displaying a badge, presumably because they do not have one and are just too lazy to walk a little further.
I never use the blue badge that my wife is entitled to if she is not with me. However, I think charging ANYONE who has to attend hospital is disgusting. It is illegal in Wales as well as Scotland.
It is a tax on a captive audience.
Our hospital just introduced parking charges for blue badge holders, funny how once the ambulance service stopped taking any patients in receipt of mobility allowance or blue badges, thus increasing the volume of blue bagels visitors, how the trust decided that all patients and visitors pay to park. Worse was the hike in parking charges….now £3.30 hour.
Disgusting….
Just because you have a blue badge don’t mean you can’t pay for parking. Only if you have a wheelchair it should be free.
The car park at my local hospital is quite steep. In bad weather, by the time a disabled person has got themselves into their wheelchair, reached the pay machine, struggled to reach the controls, gone back to the car and struggled to fix the ticket to the windscreen, they are often soaked and frozen.
There is clearly a lot of misuse of blue badge bays and still far too little enforcement. My daughter has depended on a wheelchair for the last seven years and we have become very aware of the many people who use bays and don’t seem to need them, however, people would have the same impression of me if I park to collect my daughter or perhaps go to the car to drop off her shopping. I have never been challenged in these circumstances (just had a few disapproving looks) but I would be happy to explain my circumstances and provide proof if necessary.
If we are to widen the distribution of disabled badges then there needs to be a sub division to keep wheelchair accessible bays, with additional space, for wheelchair users. Without these my daughter can’t get back in her car or risks not being able to on her return. I can appreciate that some people may need the service to access town centers etc but they don’t need the additional space
Picture on the front? Do you really want to give anyone with nefarious intent advance warning what the vulnerable owner of that particular car looks like? I don’t.
What I’d really like to see – as a blue badge holder myself – is proper policing of these badges. A few more checks on who is in the car when the badge is on display. I have no problems with showing the back of my badge to *anyone who has legitimate reason to ask* but I’m not willing to have my picture on display 24/7 (I have a disabled bay outside my home so I need to display my badge there as well) or to have just any nosy Tom, Dick or Harry demand to see whether I own that badge.
I’ve been disabled enough to qualify for a badge since I was in my early 40s and as a younger BB holder with no apparent disability to the uninitiated, I’ve had my share of snide comments by people when I’ve got out of my car. Which changes when I get out my crutches and stagger away.
Yes, police the badge properly to stop the lazy taking advantage of a disabled relative, but no, I don’t want my picture on the front of my badge, thank you.
I feel guilty using my mother’s blue badge even in a disabled bay, I feel I should drop her off and park elsewhere as I am fit and able to walk across a carpark. Put the photo on the front in my opinion. In that way at least passers-by can see the user with the vehicle, this may cut out some of the views that “why are you using that badge, you look fine to me”. Many people do not realise the extent to which people are entitled to a badge, it may not be for a visible condition. Maybe some form of electronics and I.T. password control is needed to activate the card display, this may cut out some theft.
From a crime prevention perspective, putting the photo on the front is a big NO NO. Thieves seeing a photo of an elderly or frail looking person could target them on their return to their vehicle.
the point is, as I know as my father has one due to disability, they are only for those with MOBILITY issues. if you don’t have mobility issues, why should you have a blue badge? not all disabilities are visible, fair point, I’m well aware of that, BUT it WILL be visible if it affects your mobility!!!!
Blue badges are in fact NOT FREE, they run for 3 years at a cost of £10. To get a reissue you have to reapply to your local council with proof that you are still intitled to have one.
Precisely. In other words, if you are disabled, you are simply paying in advance for your parking. Nothing is ever free, let’s face it.
£10 for three years parking! Cheap!
Why can’t you pay for parking anyway?
If you are disabled there is every possibility that you would struggle to walk to and from the parking meter and may not ba able to reach the pay slot so the stress is relieved by not having to pay.
Big problem there are an increasing number of towns who make disabled pay for blue badge parking even though the Blue Badge is supposed to allow the user to free parking
They get away with it by NOT providing any disabled parking bay where they are needed but allow a small amount well away from where we need to park
No in Scotland the cost of the badge is £20
As a disabled blue badge holder, being able to park near shops and other amenities is vital for me.
I live in London and worry about the theft of my Blue Badge. There is a company that can supply electronic blue badge that if stolen is deactivated, but there is two problems with this device. 1 my partner rang up to try and find out how much it cost for this device and the woman on the phone was less then knowledgeable about the device. 2 not all parking enforcement companies are able to scan the device.
I agreed that nobody that is in hospital or that needs to attend an appointment should pay for parking
My dad brought a portable blue badge card holder that you use to display your badge and timer whilst parked but it is secured to the steering mechanism.
Not sure where he got it from bit it’s really handy to secure the badges whilst parked.
That does not stop the relative using someone else’s badge when they are not in the car
my husband is disabled due to Alziemhers and mobilty He attends 9 Wells Hospital in Dundee. On a regular basis. But we still have to pay parking fees which have just rose to £2.30p
Ours is £3.30 hour
Simple answer is to make blue badges into photo id and that person has to be in use of the badge
This would stop friends and family keeping the badge for their own use when the person issued the badge doesn’t have a car
They should change the blue badge on to the disabled car that way no one could misuse them
You say Scotland is free, Hospital parking Not True I Pay in Dundee and there are others that charge it when up again this month ever time you go
The price has risen
supermarkets have the largest misuse of blue badges they should do more to
check the drivers & passengers .spot checks by the council could cut down
the misuse and warning signs posted.
I too am sick of the blatant misuse of blue badges, in particular by middle aged women who claim they are shopping for their disabled mother and are therefore ENTITLED TO USE THEIR BADGE.
Increasing the number of badges will lead to more misuse and whatever happened to the no more to be issued by family GP ‘s because they feel obliged to help a long standing patient ?
Surely the Blue Badge (BB) holders information together with their vehicle should be held on a central computer that the authorities have access to. BB Holders should have access to update vehicles either by phone or online. This could eradicate the thefts and misuse. I cannot see how using a stolen BB is going to help someone avoid the congestion charge. It would just uncover the fact that you are using a stolen BB.
Any body caught using a Blue Badge they are not entitled to use should be given a long ban from driving But many Will say you cannot punish anyone that hard Punishments for all offences are not severe enough to be a detterent .But the don’t punish them it might harm them brigade are in charge
I’ve got no problem with the blue badge itself, but I don’t see why disabled drivers should be allowed to park everywhere for free. As for the congestion charge, it should be scrapped completely, it hasn’t any reduced any congestion whatsoever, it only purpose is to raise £millions and millions every year for TfL and the Government.
Easy way is each badge has a “Clear” Serial number so can be read from outside which could be checked by a handheld scanner for any parking permit and reg number logged then if stolen permit flagged comes back to vehicle number either then or later so known where used and dealt with it could also have a reg number if one in family so associated with badge but not meaning has to be used with just that one but if used on others can be contacted to check maybe even give an update on vehicle regulary used on line that way you and council stops theft.
A bit of work but lessens theft and inconvience but it’s not just the loss of badge but damage to car and then messing around to get sorted plus if have peace of mind it’s not going to be stolen is far better.
But someone saying about people using badge! How do you know person isn’t collecting badge holder rather than them. but could also be someone with hidden illness as there’s people with likes of MS/Fibro/ME/CFS along with asthma where if all the planets align your having a good day!!!
So for a short jog your ok but ten mins later wheezing like an old donkey!
I have had a badge for over 10 years and have encountered the usual, cars parking and then the occupant running down the road..i would love to walk, let alone run!..My opinion on mummy and baby spaces is different though, having a baby is a choice we make,being disabled is not a choice any of us make..there is a BIG difference.If they increased the amount of bays for mothers and disabled people…where would everyone else park? Where i live it is not that easy to park outside a shop as most of the double yellow lines go onto the kerb,and as we are not allowed to park there, whats the point!
maybe we could employ another person like a , parking person who could inspect theese badges. i have 1 but have never seen anyone goingg around inspecting.ii
fine giving those with mobility issues these things, but why should those with no mobility issues have them? I realise that not all disabilities are visible HOWEVER the whole point of the ‘blue badge’ scheme AND the motability/mobility allowance payments are ALL geared solely towards those with MOBILITY issues. those with arthritis, for example, can NOT get a blue badge (except in very severe cases) yet it affects mobility (joint stiffness/pains). I know this as I researched this exact issue as I know many who suffer from it. none qualified as they could walk more than a set distance (up to 400 meters non stop, from memory, regardless of whether you feel pain) and yet people who may have other disabilities that do NOT affect mobility (like the tracksuit brigade you see sprinting into the supermarkets etc) can get a blue badge!!!! how is THAT fair??? either give them to all with mobility issues AND disabilities, or make it ONLY for those with MOBILITY issues, as defined in the DWPs own rules.
I am right that you have to have the high level on DLA to get your blue card,so how come some councils are handing out blue cards without having to be on high level DLA.Does anyone no that is right.
You don’t have to have High Level DLA Mobility Allowance to get a Blue Badge. But it helps to get your application passed
The disabled places at my local Tesco is normally taken up with the driver who can’t be bothered to get out whilst the wife/husband does the shopping. Tesco don’t care.
Many years agoI fell foul of a parking attendant for incorrectly displaying my late mothers blue badge. Whilst the fine was rescinded, I felt that the design of the badge was incorrect. My argument is simply that the photo should be on the side which is displayed to any officer inspecting the vehicle. This would allow them to identify persons not entitled to be falsely using these badges. Despite my my correspondence to various departments the photograph is still hidden from display. What to other members of the public thick??
The expiry date and the photo of the disabled person should be on the exposed side. If someone notices that the person on the badge is not present they should be reported as either a theft of the badge or fraudulent use of it.
I have known with Blue Badges whos disability does not affect their mobility, the are able to walk considerable distances unaided, maybe their GP is a soft touch.
I agree that hospital parking should be free to all those who have appointments and visiting, to avoid misuse if a ticket is issued along with the appointment letter to be displayed in the car window during the visit it would prevent misuse.
Blue badge should be available to all people with disabilities, mental or physical
Blue badge holders pay for parking in Plymouth. I do see young people use a blue badge jump out of the car and run up the road. Plus the disabled parking space outside of my property can hardly be seen, I have contacted the relevant department many times but no response.
We have the same issue outside my shop, it is Limited Bay and all disabled badge holder uses it and i know all these disable badge holder are using their friends and family member to gain parking advantage, where they do not need to move within 1 hour, as they are abusing the Blue badge and i reported to the Lancahsre county council and they said we need the badge number and i did give it to them and they id nothing. Followed up after 4 weeks and they said they can not do anything and it is impossible to catch them out. I know for a fact it is being abused, i never see any of thier member of the disabled person in the car at all. It gets to me the Authority do not want to know, even though i gave them information, facts and pictures.
No wonder these people gets away with it, as the Authority Do not care and these people are taking the Mickey out of the system.
No British values and plus they are all Asians and thinks they own the road by always parking the same cars on the same spot with their family members disabled badge or friends badge who you never see them.
We have the same issue outside my shop, it is Limited Bay and all disabled badge holder uses it and i know all these disable badge holder are using their friends and family member to gain parking advantage, where they do not need to move within 1 hour, as they are abusing the Blue badge and i reported to the Lancashire county council and they said we need the badge number and i did give it to them and they id nothing. Followed up after 4 weeks and they said they can not do anything and it is impossible to catch them out. I know for a fact it is being abused, i never see any of their member of the disabled person in the car at all. It gets to me the Authority do not want to know, even though i gave them information, facts and pictures.
No wonder these people gets away with it, as the Authority Do not care and these people are taking the Mickey out of the system.
No British values and plus they are all Asians and thinks they own the road by always parking the same cars on the same spot with their family members disabled badge or friends badge who you never see them.
I have to disagree with the plans to offer blue badges to a further million people with ‘hidden’ issues such as autism. Not because I don’t think that they have genuine needs but one thing that many don’t suffer with is a problem walking distances which is why the blue badges are a life line to the genuine people who have been issued with blue badges. There are not enough disabled spaces now so if many more badges are issued then the people who have mobility issues will suffer and may be forced to struggle, often in pain because the spaces are all taken. I do not have a blue badge but my mother does and when I drive her car I would never take up a disabled space if she is not in the car but I know many people who think it’s a ‘free parking’ ticket rather than a lifeline for thousands.
I think there are already far too many Blue Badges issued – I have seen people with valid Blue Badges get out of their cars and walk all round the town without any problem, some at quite a pace; whereas others like myself have to keep moving the car to access different places, and if there is no space near where I am going, I have to go home. Furthermore, this borough council does not bother to challenge people who appear to be misusing a blue badge, let alone prosecute them. It seems to me that Blue Badge parking should remain a mobility issue, particularly as people with severe autism or dementia would not go out alone anyway.
There is absolutely no reason to extend the Blue Badge scheme to include those who suffer from autism or dementia – other than the fact that we are an increasingly nanny state. The whole point of the Blue Badge scheme was quite correctly based on mobility issues, and this is how it should remain. The number of badge holders parking in small town centres at any one time can already cause difficulty for other members of the public, so to consider increasing the scope of the scheme and thereby increase their number, makes no sense at all
I think anyone who allows family and friends to miss use there badge should lose it as they don’t need it if lending it out also they are just making someone who genuinely needs that space to not be able to use as there family/friends what to save a few pence.
Please confirm date, as soon as possible could be anything from tomorrow to 20 years ?
My father went through this and now My mother is going through the same and it is people who lives on the west side , where there is legal parking and everyone wants to park over here and they park with the disabled badge, who lives on the opposite side and there is NO FAIRNESS at all.
Highway just don’t seem to understand the problem it is causing us and we always have to suffer in silence or you end up arguing and quarrelling for no reason, if other were considerate, but nowadays , these considerate people are very hard to find.
I had a friend who came to visit my house , he is 86 Years old and very good in health and he was very considerate and parked one of the side street and did not cause any problems for the residents, as he knew , he was going to be longer 30min and less than 1 hour.
You need to look at timing for the disabled badge holder and reduce the timing to 15Min maximum stay, so this give enough time for the Doctors appointment, picking pizza up should not take more than 15min. Resident like ourselves can park up safely and drop passenger off or unload shopping, as it will have a fast turn over car parking space.
Disabled badge is the Biggest culprit on the limited bay, as they used this to gain advantage of parking , so they do not need to worry about the timing.
Please look into this, as I am fair person, as you can see from my email, as I am not asking for a permanent parking space outside my house, but if there was a fast turnover of parking space or timing on the disabled badge holder or make parking bay on the opposite side .
Please confirm and forward this to the officers .
Where ever possible, Police or Parking Wardens doing spot checks on a parked vehicle displaying a Blue Badge, to confirm correct use.
I don’t understand why the disabled persons picture is not displayed on the windscreen of the badge as surely it would help detect fraudulent use of the badge by unscrupulous motorists or by theft of the badge as the thief would then need to try and remove the photograph and replace it with their own.
How and from where are the Blue Badges being stolen from ?
All hospital visits which are legitimate should be free, however there should not be positive discrimination for blue badge holders (obviously not patients), over a non blue badge holder. If one has to pay, all should pay.
I agree the photo of the holder should be on the front of the badge. That is one way to stop the miss use of badges. Not to long ago I was coming out of a hospital and there were two girls walking near me, l clearly heard one say to the other, ‘ l hope that parking attending dose not ask me to turn my grans badge over thenl had a good last.