Hello,
I am making a programme about the Blue Badge scheme for BBC Radio Five Live.



One of the things I’m looking into the fact that you can’t use the badge in Westminster, the City of London and parts of Camden and Chelsea. I would be really interested in hearing from disabled badge users who live in London.



I’m interested in the fraudulent use of disabled badges and would like to hear from anyone who has had their badge stolen more than once.



Also, if anyone knows where the badges are being sold or who is stealing them I would love to speak to you.



You can reach me on 020 8752 4345 and my email address is kirsteen.knight.co.uk



Best wishes,

Kirsteen.

Kirsteen, you might like to PM Tony-medusa or alternatively Simon at LMAG. With regards to 'dodgy' disabled badges, I doubt unfortunately whether this site would be of assistance.

This post has been edited by Wayne Pendle: Mon, 29 Jan 2007 - 18:55

A friend who lives near Arsenal's ground tells me that on match days the streets are parked solid with expensive cars with disabled badges, driven by people quite able to get out & walk to the ground with no obvious difficulties.

if they support the gunners maybe they are mentally disabled ?

hehe, took the words straight off of my keyboard

Well obviously they're driving their disabled parents to the game or nearby shops.

You can't park on Poole Quay without a blue badge. So now everyone is disabled from being able to park there. I'm sure this is incitement for people to abuse them.
The number of cars parked around the quay with blue badges is quite amasing, considering that I only saw one person in a wheel chair and nobody looking like they were having trouble getting around.

6 out of 10 blue badge are not used by the person it was issued for in fact it hard to find who the badge is for the system need good looking at .
I know over 10 person who have got blue badge but don't own a car never use a car or going use any car they get the blue badge and sell it to one in the family to park near work for free .
the blue badge should be linked to a car that is reg to a disabled person and taxed and insured for the use for the named disabled person .
and there is should be a red card that only let you park for one hour max should the disabled person have some other one to take them some where with out the reg car that the blue badge linked to .
this way it would cut down on all fraudulent use .

My wife has a blue badge and we too spot people who seem able to walk and think are they disabled. On occasions you could be forgiven for thinking that of my wife, but then you should be there when she cant put her feet on the floor as ists too painfu; and you have to carry her to the loo. She has all shades between these.

The penalty for being caught abusing the badge is removal of it from you permanently, so I Have been told, in practice it may be differewnt. So when my wife is not in the car I dont use it or abuse it.

Tying it to one car would effectivley make her housebound on a bad day when I am at work or out of the country, its for her not the car, so I wouldn't agree to that suggestion.

Perhaps the Blue Badge Scheme should be withdrawn completely.

Instead they should reintroduce the turquoise three wheeler.

Hi, I've got a blue badge - also a bad heart, lung cancer and necrosis in my feet - BUT - I look great and get some funny looks when I get out of my vehicle in a disabled spot. I can walk but the necrosis kicks in around 20 metres and from that point on it is painful. I had a problem with one couple a few weks ago where they pulled into a disabled spot in a flashy sports car. I asked if he had "one of these" and showed him my blue badge. After a load of abuse he pulled away and I parked.

I also travel to London and whereas there are some places and concessions for London registered blue badge holders it is not the same for people outside the capital. There should be a countrywide parking standard regarding badge holders.

Rgds
Zapata

It's very confusing to know where you can legally park with a blue badge in central London, certain areas are off limits, but you will not see any signs warning of this. One point maybe worth looking into is the reason that the badges are not recognised, this has always been explained by the high level of congestion and parking problems, but now that the congestion charge is well established, and has been such a wonderful sucess that justifies its being extended, is there still a good reason for not allowing badge use, like all the rest of Europe, either the C.C. is working or it isn't, and badges are ok or not.
Drove a disabled passenger to The Strand today, plenty of pay and display spaces in side roads, so went to do the usual token payment which allows an hour with the badge, and found that the machines in the area don't take cash, you are expected to phone a number, or put a credit card in a machine, I couldn't believe this, no signal on my phone, and I really wasn't happy to enter my pin number into their machine, I'm not trying to be funny, I really would not trust any parking authority, they are not honest.

if you fully read my suggestion then you can see that I did state 2 cards blue one with named car on it and red one to use but have limit parking time .
if you are way at work your wife can use the red card for who ever going take her to shop since it is one off I don't think she would be asking who ever driving her to wait to when she finish .
and if you was out of the country then wonder if your car fly with you or you take your car with you .

I am sure now you can see my point .

This post has been edited by madmoe: Thu, 1 Feb 2007 - 22:57

Im disabled but i walk ok,ppl dont av to "not" walk to claim disability.

I live in yorkshire and drive down london to see a Dr and i still use the blue disabled badge in westminster,u can also park in a meter bay with a blue disabled badge for 3 hours in london if u want but u av to pay for the 1st 2 hours and the u get the 3rd hour free,i was told by the traffic wardens.

This report is going out today (Sun 18th Feb) on Radio Five Live sometime between 10 am and 1 pm on the programme "Worricker on Sunday".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/fivelive/programmes/worricker.shtml

As a blue badge holder I listened to the program. Typical biased BBC. It appears that the councils want the responsibility to decide whether a person is disabled and not their medical GP. This will probably bring back similar problems like the situation where the National Coal Board decided which miners were suffering from "dust". As you may guess their figure was extremely low and now - today - the Coal Board Pension schemes are still paying out compensation to miners and their dependants.

If a GP considers you to be "disabled" then this should not be challenged by council jobsworths.

With regards to misuse of the badge by drivers who have forged badges then these people should be prosecuted but don't make all genuine badge holders suffer. One council spokesman for Liverpool on the programme stated that the Blue Badge was worth £5,000 pounds per year for city centre parking. Has to be something wrong in Liverpool if charges are that high ! Once again this highlights the "attitude" - the concession is being criticised not because you are disabled but because you do not pay ludicrous parking fees. If disabled people paid fees the councils would not object to anyone parking anywhere.

The next thing that will happen is that councils and the government will means test the Blue Badge.

Rgds
Zapata