playing along with the blue badge scheme...opinions??

[pcorcoran]

Hi all

This is my first post on this site and I am looking for a few opinions on this one, it is about my interpretation of the blue badge scheme and the negative effect I feel it has on my identity as a disabled person and the wider disabled community as it is currently executed and the rules that surround it which I believe are indirectly discriminatory to myself and all disabled drivers

Firstly a short back story I am a 33 year old male living and working in London diagnosed with Parkinson’s in late 2009 and becoming increasingly reliant on my car and work van (run my own furniture business) for transport and access, but struggling with the parking legislation for disabled people and unsure about where to go with this one.

It is my understanding that I should not have to disclose any personal information about myself to the general public that I do not wish to be know, so by parking in a disabled bay and displaying my disabled badge is in itself an act of giving up my right to privacy and allows the general public to judge and observe me as being outside of the standard sphere of able-bodied society. The provision of disabled parking however requires me to park in a bay with disabled written across the road or a wheelchair symbol and then to place a badge in my car to announce my disability for all to see when infact it is only the traffic enforcement authorities who need to know who I am and my entitlement to park in a designated bay, and is not the business of anyone else.

Just to say I need to park close to entry points, as do many disabled people, the blue badge scheme is fantastic in principle but not in execution. The majority of disabled drivers are more than happy to conform to the schemes guidelines but that does not make it right, it seems to me that the disabled community have become complicit in a state system which labels all disabled with a wheelchair image under one umbrella which I find frankly offensive and patronizing.

Disabled people suffer from all manner of afflictions some visibly obvious and others not so, it is well known that disabled drivers can receive abuse from the general public when they park thus identifying themselves as disabled when they may not show obvious signs of disability as perceived by the general public. I myself take powerful medications to alleviate my Parkinson symptoms which can work very well but easily switch "off" leaving me virtually paralyzed and strained shortly after being able walk freely whilst my medication was effective, meaning I can leave my car able-bodied in appearance and return to my car disabled in appearance.

The obvious response to my argument is in 2 parts, first being that the blue badge scheme is an opt in scheme and comes with a published set of requirements to fulfill, however if I do not wish to take part in the scheme I do not become suddenly un-disabled I still have the same needs and I am still disabled I just have no desire to be known as disabled to anyone that doesn't know me. The second part is that we have to mark bays as disabled so that the able-bodied don't use them, well I disagree with this it is not the disabled who should have to tell the local authority who they are it should be the local authority’s responsibility to develop the necessary technology and systems to identify a disabled driver anonymously not to maintain and support a system placing me in a position where I must label myself.

I understand that the campaign is always for more disabled bays but the disabled community seem to have somehow along the way accepted the requirement of labeling. In no other part of modern 21st century do we as a society mark out people in such a condescending and offensive manner.

paul corcoran

[tinker]

Whilst I see the point you are making if there was no requirement to display an obvious identifying badge to use a parking bay reserved for the disabled, then even more drivers would abuse the system.
Thankfully the days of the little blue 'invalid carriage' are long-gone and disabled drivers vehicles look like every other car on the road. It's the way the scheme works & no big deal, when I was a learner driver in the way distant past I had to display an 'L' plate & in some places you have to display a 'new-driver' plate. Personally I don't see a problem & welcome any help I can get.

[warkman]

I do agree with tinker, the whole reason for the Blue badge is so that only blue badge holders can park on on-site disabled bays.
If that was not the case, how would you police the bays, or the cars parked on double yellow lines.
I for one whilst unappy about being disabled, do not want to hide the fact either.

[pcorcoran]

thanks for the replies

i completely agree that blue badge holders have the right to park in bays designated for use and that able-bodied drivers have to be prevented from using disabled bays.... but.... it is the local authorities responsibility to police the system it is not for the disabled to have to identify themselves.

the technology exists where i can park my car in a pay display and text to pay for parking without displaying anything in my car, so it can be done and the costs changes etc are irrelevant as by the state labelling me as disabled and placing me in a system whereby i must identify myself as disabled then they are discriminating against me and that is just a fact, therefore the parking legislation currently in place is indirectly discriminatory and thus illegal.

an example, if when i became disabled i decided not to join the blue badge scheme should i not be allowed to park in a disabled bay? what would happen if i parked in a disabled bay? would my lack of a badge to confirm my disabled status to all mean that i was not disabled

thanks again
paul

[paul1234]

The disabled "parking privilege" relates to the disabled person, not the car, so that would make it impossible for any authority to check it on a database against the car details.

[pcorcoran]

again i don't believe that any difficulty faced by identifying a disabled driver or passenger is either the point or correct.

nothing is impossible we have wireless,gps and bluetooth technology, the fact that i can swipe my fingers across my iPhone screen to control it should be assurance that with technology we can and should be identified as disabled with anonymity

the blue badge scheme as it stands with a piece of card and a card wheel clock!! is borderline medieval

the acceptance of this system by the disabled baffles me and every response i have had from members or organisations around the disabled community dance around the issue and take a line of acceptance with the scheme constantly referring to the abuse of the scheme the difficulties maintaining it the technology the cost etc etc all of which are moot and irrelevant because the scheme identifies me as disabled to the general public which makes me unequal and therefore discriminates against me.

again any of the blue badge logistics affected by my statement are besides the point and are not a concern of mine or any other disabled person, it should be our position to lobby for rights not to help the state identify the disabled driver or passenger

but before i sound like i am on a rant i am not my point is simple and clear i am referring simply to a form of indirect discrimination, whilst unintentional is none the less apparent to me. The scheme is fantastic in principle, free accessible parking is not a legal requirement and it is testament to our advanced society that we have legislation in place which brings the disabled very close to the able-bodied but that does not mean that the system is correct it must always be challenged and it must always adapt and change especially with technology.

thanks again
paul

[wobble1]

You are right in what you say and identify an issue. However your situation is subjective to you but you open a much larger issue that is indeed complicated.
Just WHO should get DLA mobility and BB. Originaly it was intended for those who had the extra expense of needing an adapted vehicle.
So if I saw you unloading furniture from your company van in a BB spot or displaying a BB elsewhere what would be my perception? If I saw a wheelchair user getting out an adapted vehicle what would be my perception? however unknown to me they are working in finance earning 50,000 plus, what would be my perception then.
My point being, if you don't want to have the negative label of disabled then the whole system needs changing, not just one aspect.
Personaly, I think DLA mobility and BB's should be for those who have the extra expense of an adapted vehicle and who earn below a certain income.

[tinker]

You all state you can text or use your iPhone & yes the technology is great BUT NOT where I live, some areas here including my home do not even get normal mobile phone coverage and this includes the local car-parking area, & whilst I would love an Apple product I cannot possibly afford one.

[hemiman]

I have a BB, drive an adapted car etc, i also work, so when i use a normal car park i always pay for parking, i also pay toils at bridges as i feel i can afford and should pay. What my blue badge means to me is not free parking, but being able to park close to ammenities and at my place of work and outside my house as we have restricted parking, without my bb i wouldn't be able to do these things and would seriously impact on my life. i dread PiP as i doubt i'll get enhanced rate and then the fight will be on to retain my BB.

[pcorcoran]

thanks for the replies and opinions,

i agree, i tend to pay for parking where and when i can, here in london its expensive unto £6.00p/h in kensington/chelsea and on many occasions i pay fork several hours at that rate, because if i can i will

the way i see it is that i cant use the tube anymore which in a way saves me money so if i need to and can i would rather pay than use a disabled bay, as there is every chance someone with greater needs might be just around the corner.

yes my statement may mean a larger re-think of the "branding" of the disabled community and the images used to describe us, interestingly in architectural terms access issues in buildings are now labeled as less-abled as in less-abled toilets not disabled and they have dropped the wheelchair logo from the building regs.

yes its subjective but isn't everything for each disabled person, as no 2 disabled people are the same i can meet someone else with parkinsons who has no resemblance to my experience with the disease and thats my point really and what i find offensive is the umbrella term disabled used to describe a huge set of people literally all with an individual situation and story and then the states insistence that we must operate in the same manner, as the other comment says its easy for me to talk about using mobile technology here in london and less so in more remote parts of the country but on the other hand if say i manage to find a disabled bay in soho on a friday night (akin to a euro millions jackpot!!) then i step out of my car onto a street with literally thousands of people now knowing and identifying me as disabled, an experience less likely elsewhere in the UK does that make my life more difficult? i am not sure......

i could lead on to talk about the 20 plus PCN's i am contesting at the moment, but here is just one example london style i had yesterday.

i had to hand in my tax return on hatton gardens (holborn area) so pulled into a pay display bay got out went to the machine to see what it said no mention of any special terms for the BB, checked my pockets £10 note saw a shop over the road but drugs had not kicked in decided i couldn't get over to the shop so badge out clock set and went into accountant 11.02 am back out 11.12 am ticket on my screen warden there said i was in a green zone,,,, hmmm green zone no mention of that but later found out it is an invisible line drawn in the ground by Camden council and outlined in the BB book (warden told me this) so i was observed at 11.07 and ticket at 11.11, i was given 4 minutes by Camden and now another letter to write!!

anyway i appreciate the responses and i have decided to take my complaint further pasted below is a copy of an email i have sent to various MP's and organisation and related individuals

thanks again, sorry for such long posts
paul



Application of Parking Regulations to Disabled Drivers
Indirect Discrimination

Dear Sir, Madam,



i have an observation and complaint about the disabled parking and blue badge system here in the UK which i believe is indirectly discriminatory against the disabled.

i am a young man and at 33 registered disabled, i was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in late 2009, becoming disabled and since then increasingly reliant on my car for mobility. Parkinson's is a degenerative disease and unusual in someone of my age, the many and varied difficulties faced by the disabled was never really a concern of mine until i became disabled myself, but since 2009 i have become increasingly frustrated with the blue badge scheme and i believe it is unworkable going forward.

i do not wish to be labeled by society as disabled and i certainly do not want to have to park in bays marked disabled (both language and image) and then place a disabled "badge" in my own car window for anyone passing to see, it is an infringement of my privacy and is an end point to my right to equality as it instantly places me on and un-equal footing.

i appreciate this is an unusual stance but the act of parking as a disabled driver is something in my day to day life in London which i have become very uncomfortable with. My argument is not against disabled parking quite the opposite it is a requirement for me and all disabled drivers to be able to access in as close manner to an able bodied person all the amenities that we disabled and able bodied require. what i find utterly offensive and discriminatory is that i have to do it in an often coloured bay with a wheelchair symbol or "disabled" painted across the tarmac and then i have to place on view for all the world to see a badge which identifies me as disabled. This system instantly marks me out to an of society it is akin to me writing disabled across my forehead and i no longer wish to take part in this system as the accepted and implemented procedure as i believe it is an infringement of my privacy and more widely discriminates against the disabled.

Disabled people suffer from all manner of afflictions some visibly obvious and others not so, it is well known that disabled drivers can receive abuse from the general public when they park thus identifying themselves as disabled when they may not show obvious signs of disability as perceived by the general public. i myself take powerful medications to alleviate my Parkinson's symptoms which can work very well but easily switch "off" leaving me virtually paralysed and strained shortly after being able walk freely whilst my medication was effective, so i can park in a bay and leave my car walking well and perceived visually as an able bodied person placing myself at risk from abuse and i can (and have) then dragged myself back to my car unable to walk properly and then perceived visually as very much disabled, the point is i was no more or less disabled when i left or arrived.

i understand that the campaign is always for more disabled bays but the disabled community seem to have somehow along the way accepted the requirement of labelling for the sake of simplifying this section of society for the state. In no other part of modern 21st century do we as a society mark out people in such a condescending and offensive manner. The requirement to present yourself as disabled or anything that is outside the normalised sphere of our society is wrong in every way it prevents me from living my life as i wish and my anonymity should i choose to maintain it is gone both locally where i live and further afield when i have no other option but to park in a marked bay

the obvious response to my argument is in 2 parts, first being that the blue badge scheme is an opt in scheme and comes with a published set of requirements to fulfil, however if i do not wish to take part in the scheme i do not become suddenly un-disabled i still have the same needs and i am still disabled i just have no desire to be known as disabled to anyone that doesn't know me. the second part is that we have to mark bays as disabled so that the able-bodied don't use them, well i disagree with this it is not the disabled who should have to tell the local authority who they are it should be the local authority's responsibility to develop the required technology and systems to identify a disabled driver anonymously not to maintain and support a system placing me in a position where i must label myself, if the local authority can take parking payments in pay/display bays via text which means no item is displayed in the car then they can develop a system to identify disabled drivers or passengers. To be clear as i believe this system is discriminatory and i myself perceive and experience it that way then there are no grounds to argue against a change in the scheme because of costs, implementation, new legislation, the recently reviewed and implemented blue badge scheme or the clear fact that the majority of the disabled community are happy with the current blue badge system, those arguments are irrelevant.

i believe the parking system for disabled drivers is defunct and archaic, i believe the legislation is discriminatory and i will now no longer display my blue badge or park in any marked disabled bays even though this will prevent me from leading an equal existence the result of which is another level of discrimination from and by the state. I am writing to all the local authority parking teams to provide them with all the information necessary to identify me as a disabled driver these will include a copy of my badge, my DWP letter, and an image of my vehicle and registration number, i will also be writing to the DVLA to ask them to issue me with a tax disc which does not say "disabled" on it, i will continue to drive and park as a disabled person as i am but i will accept no penalties from any local authority as it is now there responsibility to identify me using the information i will provide ( just to get that down in writing)

In conclusion i would like to ask for the parking legislation and blue badge system to be reviewed.

i look forward to your response

regards

paul corcoran