Parking Ticket - Grrr

[Gerinako]

Park as FAR from the door as you can, and walk.. it'll do you good.. AND you get to see if my other theory in right.. that people park near you no matter where you park

I do this anyway....

Mainly because parkings easier and I can't be bothered with the 2 minute faff to find that one spot closer to the door.

Who cares that I have to walk an extra minute or two - life was made easier for me by taking the furthest option.

[MaddAussie]

Up until 10 years ago when I had my hip replaced I had a blue badge, on a very bad day I struggled to walk more than 50 meters without being in agony. I used to plan every trip to minimise the distance I had to walk. So Saracen is right every disabled space is vital. Now luckily I don't need the badge so I haven't had one for 9 years but it doesn't stop me getting enraged at stupid inconsiderate people who really should know better.

[TheAnimus]

I generally park away from the entrances because I have a theory that people who make a habit of avoiding 30 seconds of walking are lazy, the kind of lazy people who park badly, slam a trolley into your car etc.

I have no evidence of this.

[RobbieRoy]

I generally park away from the entrances because I have a theory that people who make a habit of avoiding 30 seconds of walking are lazy, the kind of lazy people who park badly, slam a trolley into your car etc.

I have no evidence of this.

Generally, based on my own observations, 'people' will be incredibly lazy in car parking. In my town there is a central car park which has the first hour free. There are a few other paid for places and a super market car park which are all less than five minutes away from the town centre. Visitors arriving in cars to that central car park will not use one of the others if it's full - they'd rather drive to another town where they can park close to the shops.

Same principle as beaches in the UK - most people are closest to the entrance to the car park, cheek by jowl, because their laziness exceeds their discomfort of being close to other sweaty, cream covered, white and wobbling human bodies.

I walk five or ten minutes before laying out my towel and watching my wife/children enjoy freezing themselves in the water as it's got to be Mediterranean temperature to get me in!

[abaxas]

Just had a rethink on this...

2.5 million blue badges
30 million cars on our roads.

Sorry, for the people in need, but I'm not willing to have the micky taken out of me.

[Smudger]

Not all of those 2.5 million will have cars. A lot of disabled people will have the badge for when they go in other peoples' cars, which is a legitimate thing, in my book...

[peterb]

Just had a rethink on this...

2.5 million blue badges
30 million cars on our roads.

Sorry, for the people in need, but I'm not willing to have the micky taken out of me.

Good job the majority of the other 27,499,999 car owners/drivers don't think the same way.

[abaxas]

I find it hard to believe that you actually think ~ 4% of the population has a disability that needs a blue badge?

Are 1 in 25 people actually that disabled? I call it BS.

[Agent]

I find it hard to believe that you actually think ~ 4% of the population has a disability that needs a blue badge?

Are 1 in 25 people actually that disabled? I call it BS.

What are you basing your BS call on? Any stats / evidence to backup your thought process?
4% is low. Very low. A lot are also temporary.

The badges cover everything from people who are recovering from an operation and have mobility issues, through to permanent physical disabilities, and even mental disabilities.

Getting a blue badge is not easy. I know several people who have them and come renewal, they are all worried.

edit - talking about stats, here are a few: http://www.efds.co.uk/resources/facts_and_statistics

There are 9.4 million disabled people in England, accounting for 18 per cent of the population

Going off that, only ~26% of all the disabled people in the country claim a blue badge.

The prevalence rate of disability rises with age − around 1 in 20 children are disabled

1 in 20 is 5%. When you compare that against 4% of the population claiming a blue badge, and realising that...

Only 17 per cent of disabled people were born with disabilities. The majority acquire their disability during their working lives.

That 4% figure all of a sudden looks quite small IMO.

[abaxas]

Sorry, but I also call the 18% of the population are disabled, BS.

The government also disagrees.

https://www.gov.uk/government/statis...112-apr-to-mar

And we all know that number is currently reducing due to re-assement.

[Agent]

Sorry, but I also call the 18% of the population are disabled, BS.

The government also disagrees.

https://www.gov.uk/government/statis...112-apr-to-mar

And we all know that number is currently reducing due to re-assement.

Are you even reading what you're linking? That document backs up the figure exactly.

The PDF from what you linked: https://www.gov.uk/government/upload...prevalence.pdf

A direct quotation:

Disability prevalence estimates 2011/12

The Office for Disability Issues has updated Department for Work and Pensions estimates which show there are 11.6 million disabled people in Great Britain, of whom 5.7 million are adults of working age, 5.1 million are over state pension age and 0.8 million are children.

The ONS gave the population as ~ 63.7 million people: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/pop-es...012/index.html

11.6m / 63.7m * 100 = 18.21036106750392% of the population was disabled according to government stats.

If you look at what that number includes:

This estimate covers the number of people with a longstanding illness, disability or infirmity, and who have a significant difficulty with day-to-day activities

This isn't even including people who have temporary issues, or none serious but might need a blue badge.

[abaxas]

Ermm, read the doc.

6.5 Million people have a disability that may count towards a blue badge.

Unless you are now saying that incontinence means you should get a blue badge? I would think tennalady / man equivalent should suffice instead.

[Agent]

Ermm, read the doc.

I have, and I've presented figures to you from it.

Sorry, but I also call the 18% of the population are disabled, BS.

The government also disagrees.

I do not seen any evidence of this in the document. Only the opposite - could you quote which bit you're referring to?

6.5 Million people have a disability that may count towards a blue badge.

Where are you getting this figure from?
The only time 6.5M is mentioned is regarding a mobility disability. I can't find any mention of blue badges in the document you've linked, or anything directly from the web page either.

I'm really hoping you're not just dismissing every other disability as being appropriate for a blue badge unless it's mobility based - but if you are, please be clear and state that. Otherwise I'd be curious to know where that's from.

Unless you are now saying that incontinence means you should get a blue badge?

I've not even hinted at what I think should be allowed and what shouldn't, so how you've picked a specific medical condition out and are spinning the "Unless you are now saying..." argument with it, I've no idea.

My opinion on who should be allowed them is very simple: It's down to a qualified medical professional to decide.

I would think tennalady / man equivalent should suffice instead.

I think i'd prefer to hear from a medical professional personally and let them decide. Given how many years of training they have, along with experience, I'm thinking that's a safer bet.

[peterb]

I find it hard to believe that you actually think ~ 4% of the population has a disability that needs a blue badge?

Are 1 in 25 people actually that disabled? I call it BS.

Irrelevant if you are taking up a parking space which a genuinely disabled person needs. You aren't in a position to say whether the person you are depriving the space from is genuine or not.