A handicapped parking space. Do we really think about using one even if we are not disabled? Do we think about how that may affect the life or day of another person?

To park in a disabled space you are meant to have a blue badge to show that you are disabled. These badges allow you to park without paying at parking metres for as long as you want; allow you to park on single and double yellow lines for up to 3 hours and give you an exemption from London’s congestion charge. To have a blue badge you have to be over two years old to be eligible and you have to either be registered blind, receive a war pensioner’s mobility supplement, have a permanent and substantial disability which means you cannot walk, or walking is very difficult for you or have a severe disability in both arms (are unable to operate all or some types of parking meter or would find it very difficult to operate them.) So why do people park in disabled parking spaces without a blue badge when they have none of the conditions listed above? I quite often walk past disabled parking spaces looking for the blue badge on cars, more than half the time these cars do not have it. Is it for selfish reasons or just they don’t want to walk further than other people? Or is it because they simply can’t be bothered to park elsewhere or they honestly don’t realise the inconvenience this can cause to disabled people when they are unable to park near their destination?

For example, my aunt who is disabled has a disabled parking bay outside her house for her use only. However, as she got home one day she found that someone had parked in her parking space without a blue badge (even though you aren’t meant to park in that space as it is for her use only.) This resulted in her having to park in a side road illegally (a narrow road so there were not meant to be cars on both sides) as this was the only way that she would able to access her house as all the other parking spaces were too far away. This meant that she got a ticket that she had to pay simply because someone had been inconsiderate enough to park in her parking bay.

As a French supermarket sign says “Si vous prenez mon place, prenez mon handicap s’il vous plait.” In other words, if you take my place please take my handicap.

By Community Correspondant Harriet Page.