Hidden disabilities

[BrilloPad]

Blue badge scheme could be extended to cover autism and dementia - BBC News

I think this is a very bad idea. If blue badges are given to able bodied people then resentment might well start to arise.

From the artivle "He has to think "long and hard" about how to get his father safely to and from car parks, since he is not entitled to a blue badge.". Well so do people with babies.

It would be nice to be able to park anywhere to take my autistic two out. However one should not take the mickey out of the system.

[DimPrawn]

Blue badges for people on the autistic spectrum disorder? So all computer programmers will be eligible then?

[original PM]

My understanding was that the blue spaces are closer to the shop because they are for people who struggle to be mobile.

And I have seen plenty of people with a blue badge, park in a blue space and then simply walk completely unaided in a spritely manner to whoever they were going.

Ok maybe they have good days and bad days - but ultimately there are still many many people who already take the piss out of the scheme

And this will make it worse for those who genuinely need it.

[BrilloPad]

Blue badges for people on the autistic spectrum disorder? So all computer programmers will be eligible then?

So after that you will be able to park your gold Ferrari in the disabled spot ....

[unixman]

Not sure about this. I know someone who is fairly seriously brain damaged, and has schizophrenia. He is more mentally disabled that someone with autism or dementia. However, he walks fine, if a bit cautiously (and doesn't do ice or stairs). Parking right outside the shop would not bring him much more benefit than it would bring any other citizen - just a little added convenience. It is therefore tricky to see what the benefit would be for those diagnosed with autism to have special parking.

Special parking should be reserved for those who really benefit from it, eg physically disabled, those in pain, blind/partially sighted.

[mattfx]

I can honestly say I'd rather they gave a special blue badge to heavily pregnant women than people with slight mental disabilities, at least they'd properly benefit from it! Yes people with hidden disabilities struggle with daily life, but not in a physical way, which is what the blue badge is meant to address.

[CoolCat]

Given the widespread abuse of the disabled parking system I would just abolish it.

Certainly the areas which have clear over provision of disabled spaces, where lots of empty disables spaces are always present when the other places are crammed full, I would revise.

In practical terms someone with a temporary problem, such as a broken ankle, needs and deserves the perks of parking at least as much as someone with a permanent condition. I know having driven someone with this problem that you really need to park near the building entrance, and you just have to ignore the rules.

And as for councils turning some residents parking slots into disabled spaces, when there are not that many disabled residents, flys in the face of common sense, and seems to be led and manipulated by a lefty disabled mafia in some towns. Does not do the cause of disabled people any favours, as so many people get upset by nonsense like this.

[fullyautomatix]

In my local supermarket all the disabled spaces are taken up by expensive SUV's with no blue badge on them. Disabled spaces are just spaces for posh people to exclusively park up.

Same goes for Parent-Child spaces. Frequently abused and used by people who want to park as close to the entrance as possible. It seems there is a new breed of lazy feckers who cannot walk even a few yards.

[DimPrawn]

In my local supermarket all the disabled spaces are taken up by expensive SUV's with no blue badge on them. Disabled spaces are just spaces for posh people to exclusively park up.

Same goes for Parent-Child spaces. Frequently abused and used by people who want to park as close to the entrance as possible. It seems there is a new breed of lazy feckers who cannot walk even a few yards.

Indeed, I think we need at least three types of special parking.

Disabled
Parent-Child
Cars worth more than £50K

[woohoo]

In my local supermarket all the disabled spaces are taken up by expensive SUV's with no blue badge on them. Disabled spaces are just spaces for posh people to exclusively park up.

Same goes for Parent-Child spaces. Frequently abused and used by people who want to park as close to the entrance as possible. It seems there is a new breed of lazy feckers who cannot walk even a few yards.

There is a hierarchy for parking spaces. Parent and child, that's for anyone as far as I'm concerned. If you have trouble getting your kid out of the car then park further away. There are countries where people walk miles for water whilst pregnant, if you can't walk to the shops then you are too lazy to be pregnant.

Taxi spaces, that's for anyone, I often park in these for short periods.

Disabled spaces well that's for people that have disabilities, no discussion. I've seen work men park across these, generally just ignored by scum bags.

One thing I've noticed is that disabled spaces must be specific to certain countries. If you are at Piccadilly station in Manchester without fail you can see that people from certain countries just ignore the disabled parking spaces.