Blue Badge Blunders!
Following the incredible (ahem) success of Bog Off! I'm delighted to bring you the associated series Blue Badge Blunders!
The first in this series of blue badge related blunders has been sent to me by Brainblogger, a fan of the Bog Off! series who suggested a similar series for parking offensives related to disabled parking bays or blue badges and their abuse. Similarly to Bog Off!, if anyone would like to send in photos I'll add them to either series.
It's a bit tricky to see just how badly this car's been parked from the photos, but I admire the jaunty angle the owner's used to ensure the maximum amount of spaces are taken up by their car. Of course it didn't have a blue badge!
That said, once I find out where in the country has empty disabled bays like that, I'm moving!
Thanks to Brainblogger, author of the excellent How can you take it easy when you are already taking it easy?
5 comments:
My Dad (blue badge holder) drove his car to a major supermarket in south Wales a year or so ago. The only disabled bay not legitimately taken up by a blue badge holder was his target. All the others rightfully had blue badge holders parked in them. Unfortunately, said bay had one of those big vans that deliver money to the cashpoint parked in it, without a blue badge. My Dad spoke with the cashpoint money security van man, and received an earful of abuse. My father gently reminded him again that he was not supposed to use the bays without a blue badge; further verbal disablist abuse ensued. My father parked across the back of the vehicle, got his wheelchair out and spent a leisurely couple of hours in the supermarket. He reported it to the supermarket manager who said that the security van man had been told not to park there previously by the store, and the supermarket was not going to get involved. Unofficially, they'd back my father.
Two hours later, my father returned to his vehicle with the shopping; the security vehicle was still there, the driver threatening to call the police.
My Dad went home. Later he called the security van company head office; they concurred that my Dad had done the right thing, as the particular van driver employee had ben repeatedly warned about misusing disabled bays.
I was impressed by one outside the local KFC where a blingtastic car managed to park across not one, not two, but all three of the spaces that were marked as for blue badge holders only. Seriously. It was parked at a full 90 degrees to the traditional, with the bonnet in one bay, the doors in the next, and the boot in the third.
We were going to take some pictures and send them to the local Gurdwara in the hope that someone might recognise the car and have a word with the owner (the car was prominently displaying several Khanda symbols). But the four young men whose car it was were watching us and I didn't feel like antagonising them.
Oh i see these blunders all the time. So infuriating.
My Wednesday walking friends have a blue badge for their son and every walk without fail I get told about he selfish parents at school who take up the spaces for the blue badge holders. It drives them nuts.
I've been meaning to take photos of the local(ish) supermarket. Parking there is great, BUT, the 5 or so disabled parks out the front? In all the time I have seen the parks used, I have seen 3 permits. It's ridiculous.
Post a Comment