Parking in a disabled space when a car park is full

[DoubleD]

Buster73 said:

I’d rather walk half a mile with bags of shopping before I even think about parking in a disabled place.

+1

[nonsequitur]

Narcisus said:

OP honestly is this thread a wind up ?

Why a wind up?
The OP's question is perfectly reasonable for PH. Posters have also been responding rationally. Parking in disabled spaces without a blue badge is a nationwide problem, and should be openly discussed.

At least you didn't call the OP a troll.

[DoubleD]

nonsequitur said:

Narcisus said:

OP honestly is this thread a wind up ?

Why a wind up?
The OP's question is perfectly reasonable for PH. Posters have also been responding rationally. Parking in disabled spaces without a blue badge is a nationwide problem, and should be openly discussed.

At least you didn't call the OP a troll.

I find it surprising that anyone would need to ask in the first place.

[Stay in Bed Instead]

nonsequitur said:

Why a wind up?
The OP's question is perfectly reasonable for PH. Posters have also been responding rationally. Parking in disabled spaces without a blue badge is a nationwide problem, and should be openly discussed.

At least you didn't call the OP a troll.

Private car parks do not come under the blue badge scheme, and no display is necessary to use the allocated spaces.

They come under the equality legislation whereby the operators have to make adequate provision for disabled drivers. So anyone with a disability, whether or not a blue badge holder, are entitled to use them.

Of course if you have a badge it's best to display it though, otherwise you may end up with a snotty letter from the car part operator/enforcer!

[kambites]

Stay in Bed Instead said:

It is breach of contract, if the operator can satisfy a judge that a contract existed.

The contract exists implicitly the instant you drive into a private car park. Either you're agreeing to the contract, or you're trespassing.

In answer to the original question, no I wouldn't use disabled spaces. I'd either go and find another shop or find somewhere else to park and walk to the shop.

[Narcisus]

DoubleD said:

nonsequitur said:

Narcisus said:

OP honestly is this thread a wind up ?

Why a wind up?
The OP's question is perfectly reasonable for PH. Posters have also been responding rationally. Parking in disabled spaces without a blue badge is a nationwide problem, and should be openly discussed.

At least you didn't call the OP a troll.

I find it surprising that anyone would need to ask in the first place.

I find it surprising that anyone would bother to post saying they found it surprising I would need to ask.

[DoubleD]

Narcisus said:

DoubleD said:

nonsequitur said:

Narcisus said:

OP honestly is this thread a wind up ?

Why a wind up?
The OP's question is perfectly reasonable for PH. Posters have also been responding rationally. Parking in disabled spaces without a blue badge is a nationwide problem, and should be openly discussed.

At least you didn't call the OP a troll.

I find it surprising that anyone would need to ask in the first place.

I find it surprising that anyone would bother to post saying they found it surprising I would need to ask.

Well that is a surprise.

[South tdf]

I would never think of parking in a disabled space unless I am with my friend who genuinely needs to.

The bigger problem is blue badge abuse, our local Waitrose has about 25 parking spaces that are always full and in my opinion at least half are perfectly able to park in a normal space and leave them free for people that need them.

Similar at my gym, it has about 15 parking spaces that are normally always empty apart from the same 3 or 4 people with blue badges who are clearly more able bodied than me whilst doing their group exercise class.

If blue badge abuse is sorted there would also be less need for so many disabled spaces (although this does not help the OP)

[Stay in Bed Instead]

kambites said:

The contract exists implicitly the instant you drive into a private car park. Either you're agreeing to the contract, or you're trespassing.

Absolute rubbish.

Do some research.

[colin_p]

I think the simple rule is that if you park in a disabled bay and you are not disabled or you park in a mother and child bay and you don't have your young kids with you, you should fully expect that woman off Games of Thrones to pop out from behind a bush and start ringing the bell and shouting "shame, shame, shame!".

[Stay in Bed Instead]

colin_p said:

I think the simple rule is that if you park in a disabled bay and you are not disabled or you park in a mother and child bay and you don't have your young kids with you, you should fully expect that woman off Games of Thrones to pop out from behind a bush and start ringing the bell and shouting "shame, shame, shame!".

Mother and child?

[Sheepshanks]

kambites said:

In answer to the original question, no I wouldn't use disabled spaces. I'd either go and find another shop or find somewhere else to park and walk to the shop.

In a situation where there's no other parking, why shouldn't equality kick in here and the disabled person find somewhere else to shop?

[Pica-Pica]

Stay in Bed Instead said:

kambites said:

The contract exists implicitly the instant you drive into a private car park. Either you're agreeing to the contract, or you're trespassing.

Absolute rubbish.

Do some research.

Trespass has to cause some damage or loss to the land owner, I am not sure merely driving in (and driving out) would do that.
I always want to scribble a correction when I see ‘Trespassers will be prosecuted’, to ‘Trespassers may be sued’.

[Hol]

meatballs said:

Best entertainment is when some doddery old gentleman, who probably can't even make out the markings, parks in the busy parent and child bays when the disabled bays are all free. Queue wrath of the mums.

Can’t say I have ever seen that occur in reality.

I do see a lot of people in spaces not meant for them.

Well done OP, you did the right thing and Karma rewarded you for it.

[kambites]

Sheepshanks said:

kambites said:

In answer to the original question, no I wouldn't use disabled spaces. I'd either go and find another shop or find somewhere else to park and walk to the shop.

In a situation where there's no other parking, why shouldn't equality kick in here and the disabled person find somewhere else to shop?

Because the car park is privately owned and the land owner has the right to say who can use it for what (within the legal restrictions on things like the requirement to provide a certain proportion of disabled spaces).

Same with parent and child spaces. It's not that there's anything particularly sacrosanct about people with kids, just that the car park owner has every right to decide who can use their property and how.

Edited by kambites on Saturday 14th December 11:39

[Hol]

DoubleD said:

Buster73 said:

I’d rather walk half a mile with bags of shopping before I even think about parking in a disabled place.

+1

+2.

The people who do it are usually under achievers, who feel the need to win a non-existent competition with everyone else.

Often you will find that they put up meaningless arguments about legalities and their own insufferable needs as an excuse for their general cockwombleness.

[kambites]

Stay in Bed Instead said:

kambites said:

The contract exists implicitly the instant you drive into a private car park. Either you're agreeing to the contract, or you're trespassing.

Absolute rubbish.

Do some research.

I did a few weeks ago when I got a parking ticket for over-staying in a private car park. That's why I know the legal situation.

[hyphen]

RogerDodger said:

I use parent and child spaces if the car park is full. Never disabled. Although... I once parked in a disabled bay at Asda near Perckham. both hands in braces after a bike crash. Very hard to get in and out of the car. Got a "ticket". Car park guy was having none of it when I explained why. Took it in and offered to return my entire trolley of shopping for a refund. They cancelled the ticket.

Your hands were in braces and it was hard to get out of the car. But your feet were fine and no issues pushing a fully loaded trolley around...

Disabled spaces are for those that need to be nearer to the shop entrance, not for people taking a bit longer to exit their car!!

[FWIW]

Stay in Bed Instead said:

colin_p said:

I think the simple rule is that if you park in a disabled bay and you are not disabled or you park in a mother and child bay and you don't have your young kids with you, you should fully expect that woman off Games of Thrones to pop out from behind a bush and start ringing the bell and shouting "shame, shame, shame!".

Mother and child?

It was a reunion.

[kambites]

hyphen said:

Disabled spaces are for those that need to be nearer to the shop entrance, not for people taking a bit longer to exit their car!!

Well it's sort of both. They're larger than normal spaces to make vehicle access easier for people who have impaired movement; there are disabled people who can walk fine but have serious problems getting in and out of a car.