Disabled facilities

[hyperD]

I think it's OK to use the disabled toilets. Hell, they're wide enough to get several people in at once and use it like a urinal.

[privateeye]

that's a much more sensible idea, and I would totally support that. I just find specific allocated "female" parking spaces a bit bizarre

Without the escort they are just putting a target on your back by just allocating a space - unless of course it the space is coverred by a surveillance camera

[janey]

Without the escort they are just putting a target on your back by just allocating a space - unless of course it the space is coverred by a surveillance camera

doesn't stop anything from happening, just means they've got evidence for when you take them to court for battering you to within an inch of your life!

(this obviously assumes someone has had the foresight to put a video tape in the recording equipment!)

[meridian]

What about the parking spaces reserved for people with children that you find in supermarkets et al? I used one of those at Sainsbury's once only to find a clamp and fine threat on my windscreen.

Why do people with kids need a special parking space? When those spaces are full they park in the normal spaces anyway without any trouble.

Grrrrrr...

I wholeheartedly agree with these spaces, and keep a childseat in the boot for just such an occasion. Last thing I want is for some careless scrote to put a ding in the side of the Jag because they don't know how to open a car door without flinging it into the next bay, and these child spaces are nice and wide.


Now, where can I get a blue badge from...

[BoredBloke]

"But even so... how common is this scenario? does it really justify allocated parking spaces?"

This is the problem when people complain about parking spaces. There are loads because lots of people abuse them. Check in any car park and a fair percentage of the the disabled bays are used by people who should not be there. So the shop adds more. Then people see more disabled spaces and think that its ok for them to use the spaces. Also adding more spaces pushes the normal spaces further away from the shop, further disgruntling people.

What I feel is that the disabled spaces should only be used for people who should be allowed to use them. That is, people who need the extra space for access due to their wheelchair. Anybody using the spaces without displaying a badge should be fined. This includes those who have a badge and who have not displayed it.

[janey]

"But even so... how common is this scenario? does it really justify allocated parking spaces?"

This is the problem when people complain about parking spaces. There are loads because lots of people abuse them. Check in any car park and a fair percentage of the the disabled bays are used by people who should not be there. So the shop adds more. Then people see more disabled spaces and think that its ok for them to use the spaces. Also adding more spaces pushes the normal spaces further away from the shop, further disgruntling people.

What I feel is that the disabled spaces should only be used for people who should be allowed to use them. That is, people who need the extra space for access due to their wheelchair. Anybody using the spaces without displaying a badge should be fined. This includes those who have a badge and who have not displayed it.

I've no problem with disabled parking spaces and I never park in them but I think the "female only" parking spaces (which is what my comment was based on, not disabled spaces) is perhaps taking things too far.

Wouldn't these spaces lead to further disgruntlement (a word?) and thus further abuse of the existing allocated parking spaces, including the disabled ones?

[privateeye]

doesn't stop anything from happening, just means they've got evidence for when you take them to court for battering you to within an inch of your life!

(this obviously assumes someone has had the foresight to put a video tape in the recording equipment!)

Know what you mean Janey, the areas I was thinking about is where it is made so obvious that everything is being recorded and people are around to back up the camera's. Its no use just having concealed camera's they need to be visible to be a deterrent. Our local train station put more obvious camera's in the car park and crime is reduced so they tell us.

[janey]

Know what you mean Janey, the areas I was thinking about is where it is made so obvious that everything is being recorded and people are around to back up the camera's. Its no use just having concealed camera's they need to be visible to be a deterrent. Our local train station put more obvious camera's in the car park and crime is reduced so they tell us.

I guess I'm just a bit sceptical about the whole camera as a deterent ploy

[Pinto]

privateeye,

may I ask why you go through the extra effort of placing an apostrophe in the word "cameras"?

[swamp]

I occasionally use the disabled spaces as the "normal" spaces are often way too narrow for the kinds of car I tend to drive. I even had a long slanging match with a jobsworth at Meadowhall because I took up two normal parking spaces. I could have parked how he wanted and then taken up three, but I thought that was truly idiotic. But he was a car park security guy at Meadowhall so I shouldn't have expected an IQ above the level of a warm croissant, and I was a little bored, and it offered some small excitement to an otherwise dull day which was why I was there in the first place.

If you park properly, there is a chance that two smart cars will pull up and park either side of your mum truck.