Always challenge. If the person in the bay is genuinely disabled, they won't mind being politely asked, as they will understand you are doing it for their benefit. They will know you care about disabled rights and access.

Incidentally, I am 'disabled', in that I am deaf and understand some of the pressures and prejudices, but I don't expect a free parking space LOL 😉

Went out with a girl who had a "disabled parking badge" – we were at a leisure centre and parked in a disabled spot as they were the only ones left. Some "posh" women in her new BMW parks in another spot, gets out and says "do you think they'll mind us parking here?". The G/F replies "well I'm disabled so we're allright. Are you?" To which she sheepishly got back in her car and drove off.

I used to take my best friend to concerts, shows etc. and used to park in the disabled parking as she had trouble walking any distance, she couldn't have gone on her own, registered disabled – long term diabetes which can slowly kill you. At one we parked in the disabled area and one of the parking attendants ran over saying "You can't park there" presumably because we looked "normal" and were in a sports car ….. I said "Why? Julia's disabled" as we put the badge on the dashboard to which he apologised and walked off.

Never did understand why the ex g/f was "disabled" as she used to swim, bike, run and was very flexible 😉

Julia died two years ago yesterday 😥

I saw a police van parked in disabled spot tonight in my local high street.
Police were in the KFC.

deadlydarcy – Member
JulianA, you know you're being selfish so stop it now! Also, you're making out that the parent & child spaces are some kind of infringements on your very being! They're not there due to legislation you know, it's the supermarkets that decided to put them there – I'm guessing to encourage families to shop. The last time I heard, you had a choice where you shopped, so the best thing to do would be to survey which supermarket allows you to park closest to the shop and then use that one.

Ohhh, slap my wrists! 😯

Umm, I didn't mean to sound as though I thought that P+C spaces are an infringement on my 'very being'! I know they're not there due to legislation (although I know that disabled spaces are (on the streets, at least) and rightly so – have I inveighed against them? I hope not – my mother-in-law, whom I love very dearly, has a blue badge and I hope I would defend her right to use a disabled space against somone using one unjustly)

For what it's worth, I usually walk to the Co-Op two hundred yards from our house – might pay a bit more but I use no petrol that way.

Just don't like the assumption that people with kids are somehow 'special'.

Glad you agree, TJ and others

Sad story, DaveGr. Sorry to hear it.

I parked in a disabled bay once and some guy challenged me by asking my disability.I said tourettes now fu£k Qff

I have a double interest in this subject, given that my four year old daughter is disabled – with extremely limited mobility – and my father in law is in a wheelchair after contracting polio as a child.
We both have blue badges and there is nothing more ***king annoying than not being able to park within practical reach of whatever facility – shops, post office, hotel – you are trying to access because some cock in an X5 or a Merc has taken the space, invariably because they "couldn't find anywhere else" and their own legs, while perfectly functional, are apparently not made for walking.
It's quite simple: those spaces are there for a reason, so don't use them.
And yes, I do challenge.
And no, I don't mind being challenged, as long as the person doing it does it politely.

Just don't like the assumption that people with kids are somehow 'special'

We are not special but if you want to try and get two small children into my car in a normal size parking bay I am happy to see you fail to do this.
When parent parking is full I have to park at the far end of car park between bays to be able to do this.
If you park in these spaces or even more importantly a disabled parking space you realy are a lazy @rse and should be ashamed of your actions. It does make the lifes of people even more difficult so you can walk a few less steps.

"All that's necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing"

Edmund Burke

Why can't everyone just be nice?
If someone parks in a disabled bay, and they have a broken leg/injury or whatever but have no 'official' disabled status, are you right to challenge them?? Of course not!

Sometimes you lot on here can be a right bunch of ****ts, causing argument or creating grief just because you think you can, or siting some pointless pedantic aspect of a law for no real benefit (example above a case in point).

It's an oldie but a goodie:
"Treat others as you yourself would wish to be treated…"

Fair enough – mothers and kids may not have a legal right to park up close to the store front, and sometimes old disabled people may not be official badge holders, and you may not want to have kids and hold it in your heads that you're a modern day hero saving mankind, but think back and remember you had/have an ol' mum somewhere, and think back to how she may have struggled carrying you plus/minus siblings and shopping around, and how nice it would have been for someone to have chosen (note chosen, not legally forced) made their life just a little bit easier, then think to how the old girl may be now – struggling to shuffle in and out of a badly designed car, and apply the same logic of someone being nice, then picture a bunch of faceless net-nerds slagging off these little aides to the poor old girl's life, and think how she might react to all these things being said about these nice ideas, then look in the mirror and put a face to the beholder of the negative wishes……would she be proud??

You know what, life isn't fair, life isn't always 100% in your favour, and sometimes you have to offer a bit of give in life – man up, accept these facts, and go park at the back of the chuffing car park chuntering about how the "government is ruining the nation" and "kids will be the end of this planet", and try to hide the nasty little twitch in your eye as you see someone helping granny and her shopping into her car whilst you fume the phrase "….they should carry my hateful shopping of pot noodle and kleenex…." through gritted teeth……

Partially in jest, but most of it was meant! Be nice people – no one likes meanies.

DrP

I did challenge quite a few people when I had a leg in plaster and was on crutches. Lazy bastards. Stupid too. And Ugly for the most part. Gods dealt some people a pretty crappy hand, you can see why they're bitter and angry and such niceties like 'disabled spaces' are lost on them. I just laughed in the end.

@Junkyard

I hope that I have explicitly stated that I never park in disabled spaces, and actually I don't park in P+C spaces because a) I'm not a lazy-arse and b) it's not worth the hassle and I'm not a lazy-arse (see a) above)

We are not special but if you want to try and get two small children into my car in a normal size parking bay

This seems to me that in fact you are special

When parent parking is full I have to park at the far end of car park between bays to be able to do this

QED!

ok i am special because I need more space fair point.

i accept you are not a lazy @rse.

When me and my 18 year old daughter do the weekly shop at Asda we find the Parent & Child parking bays very convenient. Whoever thought of them gets a metaphorical thumbs up from us.

Modern society is falling apart because we cannot agree on where we should all park!

Where will it all end?

Maybe the young are discriminated against for not getting pensions 🙄

amen, Drp (and special commendation for "….they should carry my hateful shopping of pot noodle and kleenex….")

I admit, I go for a bit of pisstaking, when I can be arsed (oh my god, this man's lost his children, let's help him look for them – Can someone call the police?), but I can't say I'm actually bothered. My kids are 6 & 9 now, IMO we need the longer walk more than we need a P&C space

Out if interest CaptainFlashheart do you challange everyone who parks in a disabled bay and isn't 'entitled' or is it just those who don't look as if they would turn nasty. For example large, scary looking blook – do you challange or think 'nah he might hit me'.

Personally I couldn't give a toss, I wouldn't park in one and anyone that does, but isn't disabled, is a selfish, lazy cock in my opinion. But I don't care enough to start a barny over it.

do NOT get me started on parking habits.

down here (Devon) its like BLOODY Ludlow (south shropshire)
they dont park, they turn the engine off and leave it where it stops.

you know that brick bit, by the front doors of tescos, the bit with the notice boards, and the ride on things for kids, the areas that are normaly bollarded off to prevent trollies from rolling into the road.

people park on that down here!!
its the BLOODY DOOR WAY!!!
they couldnt park closer if they drove to the aisle they were going to (im hazarding a guess at crisps of readymeals)

people parking in "with child" spaces annoy me, when theyre kid is CLEARLY about 19.

im starting to print these out and leave them on the windscreens of the DULLARDS who are too lazy to even make an efford to park at the office where i work.

http://xkcd.com/562/

Very interesting topic.

My father is disabled (walking disabled – he uses sticks) due to contracting polio at the age of five. He recently had his 60th and as (in his words) he is bobbing on a bit and he is not as mobile as he used to be. The disabled spaces are a real help. My father has always worked, retired at 50 (lucky sod) and refuses to claim disability benefit (as someone else who actually needs it deserves it in his mind), so having the use of a Blue Badge is all he really uses to his advantage.

When I was younger and went shopping with my Mum and my Dad drove, but didn't get out he would never use the badge to use a disabled bay and would park in a 'normal space'.

As I have been on crutches recently I would say a huge problem posed to the disabled is the **** flooring used now. Shiny floors that are like a skating rink when they get wet! How people who are unsteady on their feet and frail cope I do not know. Luckily I am young enough to bounce back up again but they are absolute death traps!!

I can pretty much guarantee anybody who legitimately uses a blue badge to park in a disabled bay would give the world to have that badge and their disability taken off them!!!

One final moan – elderly female drivers with a blue badge – why do they always fling the door open like they own all the space in the car park!!!!

Rant over….and relax!

child spaces – for those who don't have kids it might be difficult to understand that car park plus small kids plus trolley plus reversing cars plus inappropiate speeds plus looking for that parking space irrespective of pedestrians is potentially dangerous, not sure if really dangerous but don't want to put it to the test but as an adult how often do cars reverse at you when they should be able to see you? or just expect you to stop?
– think its been said before as a parent i don't need a space near the door – what i need is a safe route to the door – don't care if it is from far end of car park

disabled spaces as with pavement parking annoys me but given up years ago as those that do it don't care and usually tell you so

My wife is disabled (secondary progressive MS) when she could still just walk with sticks we used the disabled spaces but now she uses a wheelchair we’re not that bothered as I’m pushing her.

I have challenged people in the past, one bloke whizzing round Sainsbury’s then jumps into a battered old Escort & removes something from the dash like a disabled badge, we both went to the petrol station bit and as he walked past me I said he looked remarkably fit for a disabled person. His reply was along the lines of “what the F*** is it to you”
I pointed out that he obviously had some guilt as he put something in the screen I also pointed out that if he was using someone else’s badge they could loose it if caught and for all he knew I worked for the Disability Living Allowance department. At this point he went a bit pale and shot off, my guess is he was using someone’s blue badge.

Can't believe people are saying people with kids have it good and the childless ones miss out… you can tell by that comment that they haven't got kids!!

For those of you without kids moaning that it isn't fair – try having kids and realising how much of a 24/7 job it actually is from which you don't get any holiday for 18 years or any chance of moving to something different if you don't like the terms and conditions.

On the subject of P+C parking – you try getting a wriggling child into a car while stopping another running into the path of cars in a normal sized space – that extra width makes things so much less of a struggle and I don't care if they are near the door or not.

On the subject of Paternity leave – my Brother in law was thinking he'd have two weeks to go fishing – we all sniggered when he said this. Turned out he was glad to go back to work for the holiday after just a week of a new baby.

Grass is always greener isn't it 😉

DOn't have a problem with P&C parking spaces, but it does annoy me when people abuse 'the system' by using them, when the 'child' is clearly capable of getting out of the car on their own without twatting the neighbouring cars etc. It's just lazy.

Likewise, people who aren't disabled, but are too slovenly to walk 50m so park in the disabled bays just to use the cash machine – it's the 'I'm alright Jack' mentality that annoys me.

As for parking across two spaces; if a car park is almost empty & I know I am only going to be a few minutes I sometimes park across two spaces. But, if I do so, I always park at the far end of the car park.

hatched lines in child spaces around here seem to be used as extra width, cause the cayenne is much easier to "park" when you can dump it diagonally.

If you challenged me I'd think you were a weirdo lol

I don't do it as a rule but take this example; if there was a disabled spot outside the cashpoint and nowhere esle nearby I'd certainly use it.

If you challnged me I'd call you a weirdo and laugh.

If you challenged me stronger you'd probably end up being able to use the space legit lol

Would I challenge someone? Not unless I was just about to use it and had a badge.

POI.

can you get a disabled parking badge, if your disability doesnt affect your movement?

say, if your deaf?

BlingBling sounds like you should have one anyway, oh hold on are mentally disabled folk entitled to them.

Gary_M, so it comes down to calling names does it? lol

Having said If you challenged me stronger you'd probably end up being able to use the space legit lol then you deserve all you get.

Easy to act the hard man behind a screen I suppose.

I think anyone who actually thinks your discriminated against because they don't have kids is having a laugh. Its only discrimation if you were personally not allowed these rights if you did decide to have kids. Your choice if you have kids or not but they are there for you if you do. Your choice….
Oh and TJ your damn right all people that have kids are self centered and selfish. Rearing another human, feeding, clothing, educating and housing them for 20 years+ is about the most self centered thing anyone could ever do.

Easy to act the hard man behind a screen I suppose

Oh the ironing

Interestingly, when I arrived at Stalybridge Tesco at 04:12 this morning, the ONLY cars in the carpark were in the disabled and 'parent and child' bays*. I can only assume that these demographic groups prefer to do their shopping early in the morning.

* 7 parent and child, 5 spackers.

We have two under four years old. The P&C spots are a real help – however, I don't think they need to be close to the front door of the shop. Middle/far side of the car park will do for me.

As for challenging those who use them/disabled spaced? Yes I do. Fortunately, I'm 6'2" and nearly 17 stone so not many people rear up at me. If they did, I'd show my true colours; scream like a girl and run away crying. 😳

BlingBling

Apologies for co-existing on your planet, I seemed to miss the sign saying that you are more important than everyone else. Walk to the cashpoint.

As an aside and directed to all apart from BlingBling, I visited an ASDA once that had card operated barriers to get into the disabled and parent spaces. Doesn't solve all the issues but certainly helps keep the idiots (see above) away.

My job for today is to park my X6 diagonally across both a P&C and HC space and watch all the do-gooders piss boil and foam at the mouth while LMFAO!

Get a life ffs.

BlingBling…

I thought the majority of your day would be taken up with attending "how to be a to$$er" lessons!

What a kn0b you are….I hope your legs fall off some day and some equally knobby wan**r stops you from being able to get to a cash machine!

My job for today is to park my X6 diagonally across both a P&C and HC space and watch all the do-gooders piss boil and foam at the mouth while LMFAO!

Get a life ffs.

that's your job for today? You must feel you really contribute to society.

Troll of the day *proud*

Sorry they installed an esspresso machine in work, I've had at least 8 😆

"My job for today is to park my X6 diagonally across both a P&C and HC space and watch all the do-gooders piss boil and foam at the mouth while LMFAO!

Get a life ffs."

One word, Cok

BlingBling I'm shocked that's your job for today, but pleased for you that you're so good at multi tasking because you're doing a great job of behaving like a fanny on a forum.

And if you really believe this is in anyway a decent 'troll' then you're very deluded. I'd calling it backing out rather than trolling.

*bows*