I wasn't going to post to this thread, but when i think of what i see from day to day and this is most days......i felt the need too....however, this isn't a side defence on either party...ie....disabled/mother and child........
PLEASE NOTE..THIS IS NOT FOR REFERRING TO ALL DISABLED PEOPLE.....SO DON'T BOTHER POSTING BACK FOR THOSE WHO TRUELY NEED AND ARE IN THE NEED FOR THIS.......THIS IS FOR WHAT I SEE 75% OF A DAY TO DAY BASIC.
RE DISABLED BADGE HOLDERS
If u actually spend time in parking areas..like i do myself...( i service all the M & S stores in Kent, West and East Sussex and SE London ) and as i'm either sorting the service sheets/loading or unloading i see many walks of life in and out of the disabled bays.....I would say about 75% get out of their vehicle walk into store...stroll around the store for their shopping then queue at the checkout for about 15 minutes, put the bags back into trolley and walk off to their cars......a and a lot of these people usually have a non disable person with them who usually carriers the shopping for them anyway...so why should these people park out side the store doors......the worst store i go to of M&S is at Eltham. SE9.....they queue up down the ramp trying to get in the small allocated disabled parking area / loading area just to save them a few extra steps ..OH yes..and lets not forgot the parking charge they don't have to pay....... The people who legally hold a disable badge should be only able to use it, when they honestly feel that they really it...what i mean by this is.....everybody who is disabled has good and bad days with their disability....but like i mentioned above...when i see peeps like that..they are obvisouly having a bloody good day.....also.....in this small area there are bays with bright yellow lines in the shape of a parking bay, then in front of that is enough room to do a 5 point turn for them..... then there is a concrete wall.......however, regardless of what is marked out on the floor, if the bays are full they will then park in front of the concrete wall..which then causes problems the ones to get in and out of the disabled bays.............but this is the best bit...(and if i remember on Friday when i go there, i will take pics and upload them here.......) there is a large area brightly marked out as a junction area .......now we all no what the junction box means, also in this box is clearly marked in bloody huge letters LOADING BAY.....also in front of this is another junction box painted very clearly saying......NO PARKING.....now we all no why this is done like this........so the bloody artics can get in and move about/turn around etc....... also for the likes of myself that drives a van, and who are loading/unloading at M&S and for the other lorrys and 7.5t vehicles that need to get in this area........but u've guessed it, the disabled are parked in the area........
How bloody selfish is that.......do u ever see an artic/Lorry/Van/7.5t parked in a disable bay ?????????? and yet if one those was parked in a disable bay at M&S, the disabled would be running into the store complaining to M&S about it........
IT MAINLY BOILS DOWN TO NOT WANTNG TO BUY A CAR PARK TICKET
(and yes u do at most M&S food stores)
I think the law for disabled drivers who hold these badges should be......only to be used when they feel they really need to use them, if seen as i mentioned earliero in this post, then they should have a fine slapped on their window........
RE PARENT AND CHILD BAYS (i call them this cos there are also Fathers that go shopping)
There shouldn't be anything marked out for these peole.......the reason why they have these kind of bays is purely for loading children into their baby/car seats....needing the room for their doors to be opened to the full for them to be able to lean into car while having the door open.........
however, lets not forget the people that pay thousands of pounds for their vehicles and don't want to keep finding small dent marks in their doors from the other vehicles who decide to open their car door and bang it into urs, cos they never had enough room to get into theirs......i have a few of these dents on my car as i'm sure more of u do....so should there be bays for marked out like......... 'only really exspenive cars' bays ???????
i understand the need and i undersstand everyones needs are different which i'm not debating......(and this is not including disabled) for wider parking bays, but what the stores should do is either......make all the bays wider and have less cars in the car park .....or have more wider parking bays in a designated area of the car park for people who needs these wider bays.........and these wider bays shouldn't be in front of the store......but accross the other side or in an allocated corner area........Parents with children are no different from someone that chooses to buy a Months shopping in one go, knowing they can't manage it all , Parents they just have extra baggage the same as the shoppers do........there have been many of times, my trolley won't say behind my boot when i'm trying to load it into boot, cos the bloody wheels are scew wiffy and the flooring is on a slight slant......but isn't enough room for me to put it beside the car or the bay isn't wide enough.......now that isnt a shoppers fault is it....so in which should there be parking bays marked as ....'TROLLEY SHOPPERS'...........
but like i said...i'm not condoneing the extra space parents need, but there is no reason for them to be put outside the front of the store...........and if someone thinks that there is, cos of having to managing shopping / children / babies etc...............then, thats up to you.........but it doesn't mean everyone else has to compensate for it........
