Chip

Totally agree with disabled people having designated parking spaces at supermarkets, town centres etc, but why on earth do they:

Not have to pay car park charges

Not have to pay on toll bridges ie Severn Bridges

Not have to pay a road fund licence.

After all theyre obviously able enough to drive and use the road system so I think they should pay the appropriate charges as well.

Chip

David Lock

Ah give them a break. Life has dealt them a ****ty hand.

cookstar

iTrader: (6)

Must agree.

The REAL disabled, do need to be parked near the entrance, that is if there are no scoobs taking up all the spaces

What gets my goat is the huge amounts of disabled badges that you see on huge mercs/bmws, (that all seem to be owned by the same group of people.)
It really really does wind me up, especially when my dad couldnt get one for when he takes his elderly mother to the shops etc. And he is the type of person who would never dream of using it on his own.

This is the country we live in today.

Sorry for the rant.


Totaly agree with you about the road tax though, should pay the same as anyone elso who use the road.

Chip

Fair point, and I agree to a certain extent.

I only realised these benefits when I crossed the Severn Bridge this week with a mate who can do everything I can do,albeit a little slower do to a hip problem he has. He said himself the system was a joke as well eespecially when some people a lot worse off than him like my mother for example who cant get a disabled badge for her car.

Chip

David Lock

Hi Chip, Yep my mum couldn't get a badge for ages and she could hardly walk more than 50 yds (couldn't drive too well either but that's another story!). Doesn't need a badge where she is now though..........

Leslie

Thank you David Lock. It is more than a nuisance at times.

Les

brickboy

There is no reason to the way the badges are given out ... my dad's GP offered him a badge 'cos of my dad's injured leg (bike crash ages ago). Thing is, my dad walks 6-7 miles most days ....

Chip

It always the same isnt it. The genuine, honest sufferers tend to lose out to the devious, lying, spongers that we seem to have everywhere in our society today.

Chip

cookstar

iTrader: (6)

Yet you take a walk round areas like East Ham/Upton park. You will see guys in their 20's able bodied and driving massive cars, displaying them on every corner.

Scoob99

iTrader: (1)

Yeah but thats all the crocked West Ham Players


And before anyone starts I'm a Hammers supporter

cookstar

iTrader: (6)

Leslie

You may well not understand a person's disability without possession of the facts. It almost looks like "green eyes" to me!

Les

cookstar

iTrader: (6)

I see your point and i would not label all with the same brush.

I just think it is a certain group of people that use and abuse every benefit available in this country.

I am certainly not "green eyed" about any genuinly disabled person, as im sure they would gladly trade not being disabled and give up their card.

Spoon

It's actually a common misconception that all disabled people are hard up because they are unable to work. So therefore living solely off disability benefits and with the cost of day to day living of a genuine disabled person being higher the government help in ways they can to balance it out.

A lot of disabled people are only able to drive because of the Motability scheme where they get given a car, so don't always think because they can afford to drive they should pay the other.

Of course not all disabled people are solely living of benefits. I know of several very wealthy spinally injured wheelchair-bound individuals that run all manner of motor exotica. A 996 parked in a disabled spot always raises eyebrows like it shouldn't be there.

A lot of people have a physical disability due to accidents, they don't have a mental disability stopping them from being big earners or successful in other areas.

Like any ruling or law, it's across the board and doesn't appear fair or correct but it'd be impossible to segregate.

Scoob99

iTrader: (1)

Yeah like the lazy sponging git next door to me

Nick Hush

Must say some of my previous compassion for the disabled evaporated a bit last year when arranging an event at my old company. Some were exceedingly arrogant and rude to staff on being told spaces were by now sold out – often had the staff in tears. The space created for them was twice what was required by law but that didn’t stop them contacting all kinds of regulatory bodies and wasting everyone’s time. Thank God able-bodied customers don’t behave so badly when they find spaces are sold out. No one at the company wanted to hear the word ‘disabled’ after that experience, and in behaving so appallingly they do their genuine cause a great disservice.

Not sure why they get free Severn crossing, but it’s a nice gesture by the commercial company operating the bridge. Hope they appreciate it as prejudice should clearly be legislated against but preferential treatment is a bonus that I feel they often just take for granted and can get exceedingly arrogant and manipulative about.

Nick

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

Pity the M6 toll doesn't do that AFAIK

Must admit, the old man's "parking pass" is a very handy tool on busy day at the supermarket (obtained for legitmate health and mobility reasons before anyone starts - we get enough as it is from the cronies who think it's a pensioner's parking pass )

Free parking is a bonus, and agree that there is no need for it to be free. But hell, any excuse to shove two fingers up at Brum council's coffers for charging such extortionate amounts for parking in the first place. It's ok by me Especially when it cost me 50cents to park for most of the day in Alicante compared to the £5 at Brum's finest car thief supermarket

chrome

or; maybe its the other way around?

and then some..
my old man used to earn a very tidy wage working aborad in rig supply boats in south america.. he was 4 years to retirement..

he then developed a cough.. then a sore throat and within a month of being home on leave his test results came back:
(admittedly my Dad smoked from 16 or so- he switched to a pipe in his 20's).

throat cancer.

he went back to work for 3 months..
came home desperately ill.
They put him on a course of radiotherapy.
he had to miss one 'turn' offshore - work wasnt happy but kept him on the books so once he was well he could go back.

he got better.
went back.
3 months later came back- again severely ill with almost no voice.
emergency operation - the cancer has completely decimated his voicebox and was spreading!

poor sod had to have his voicebox removed completely.
AND
to top if off poor ******* had a massive stroke whilst coming out of surgery- and due to the anasthetic and the fact he couldnt talk no one realised for a couple of days!!!!!
the staff at the hospital said they were amazed he survived the stroke.. my dad indicated that he wished he hadnt

so he went from income of 60k+ and a great house/car
to suddenly being out of work.
his insurance luckily paid all his major debts.
parents had to move to a small cheap house with disabled conversions etc...

they now survive on disability and my mother works like mad just to get by.
my dad would give ANYTHING to be able to legaly drive again; but the brain damage and semi paralysis from the stroke has ruined that completely.
He will NEVER drive or work again, and has lost a significant chunk or his personality due to the massive stroke.
Yet when he sits in the car (passenger) my mum gets grief from people because my dad doesnt 'look' il - until he gets out fo the car with a stick and a huge limp and dead arm!!!!


MAKE ME SOOOOOOOooooooooo MAD when I see people abusing the disabled badge, and yet to have to stop to think that you cant nessesarily 'see' what is wrong initially.

cookstar

iTrader: (6)

When you say it makes you mad, are you talking about the to$$ers who claim it unfairly?

Please dont think anyone on here is having a pop at people like your dad. Who genuinly deserve one.

Cookie

chrome

yeah- people who claim unfairly.

chrome

also- the road tax discount is well appreciated I can tell you..
they are hard up enough as it is.

Gutmann pug

There is a one armed CSL driver who really hauls **** round the ring. Infact he seems to be there pretty much every time I go. To think he can park in the cheat spaces at tesco etc really gets my goat ....... Only jesting, he's not a bad guy and also likes a chat, even if he does have the worst cockney accent ive ever heard

Gary

Spoon

That's the problem when certain groups, whoever they are, get given the equivalent of an army to fight something that doesn't require a fight. Again the majority of genuine disabled people I know are horrified at this type of behaviour and would so prefer to just blend in with minimum fuss.

The problem that I can see also is that quite often buying tickets for any event can be a huge problem unlike if you were able bodied, and so, those that were rude were no doubt assuming the same old treatment. However, that doesn't give anybody the right to be rude.

It does but you have to apply and pay £5 for the privilege.

Apparition

My 81 yr old Mum has just successfully obtained one after an earlier unsuccessful try. It has made a huge difference to her life. She doesn't have her own vehicle, but it means we can now get nearer to places and park up. If necessary I can still take the car away to a more distant location after dropping her off. But it means we can do stuff we couldn't before.
Its a virtual life line to some people and when I see others abusing the system it makes my blood boil.

Daz34

Glenn Hoddle has an interesting theory on this

Leslie

Glad you think that way about the genuine disabled Cookstar. It would be well worth it to be able to throw all the special arrangements away to get normal mobility back again of course.

The point was made by Chrome that it is not always easy to see just how a person is disabled and it is unfair to jump to the wrong conclusion unfairly. We all have to live with that attitude at times. Amazing how people will just walk into you at times instead of giving the disabled a bit of extra room since they are not so agile any more. Its not good enough to drop a forced apology just after they have nearly knocked you over.

No reason why a disabled person can't have a "hot" car since the fact that walking is difficult does not necessarily mean that you can't drive a performance car, and why not?

Sorry to see about the attitude of those who did not get a parking space as described, takes all sorts of course and maybe they stood out a bit more because of the situation.

Les

druddle

I called the council this week to see if they do some sort of a temporary badge. I broke my leg on a bouncy castle/inflatable slide on Tuesday and find it hard to walk more than about 50 yards with crutches. Was told there is nothing temporary available, as I guess it would be open to abuse. I just get my wife to park in the disabled space and help me out !! Once i am on the bench by the door she moves the car and then does the same in reverse when we come out.

Yesterday of the 8 spaces, only 2 cars had valid badges that i could see...

Dave