Supermarkets are failing to patrol their disabled bays causing misery for millions of disabled people trying to do their weekly shop.
There are more than 10.4 million disabled people in the UK but only 2.35 million of them have a Blue Badge. Those with a Blue Badge believe that supermarkets are ignoring them.
Disabled people with Blue Badges are up in arms over supermarkets’ failure to patrol disabled bays to make sure they are being used properly. It’s not just the supermarkets that disabled people are angry with, Blue Badge holders are also fed up with non-disabled people parking in a disabled parking space.
Actor, presenter, and disability rights campaigner Samantha Renke recently called people who park in disabled bays without a valid Blue Badge as ignorant.
Samantha said that people taking up disabled spaces is “offensive and ableist”. said she ‘can’t remember how many times she’s challenged a non-disabled person for using a disabled parking space.
She is not alone in being angry at people with non-disabilities parking in disabled bays. Blue Badge holders are calling on supermarkets such as Tesco and Asda to start patrolling disabled bays, so they are used properly.
A woman from Skegness who did not want to be named said she struggles to park at Skegness Tesco because non-blue badge holders are parking in disabled bays.
“Sometimes I have driven around Skegness Tesco for half an hour waiting for a disabled bay to become available. It makes me angry to see all the people without Blue Badges parking in disabled spaces.”
Another Blue Badge holder from Grimsby who shops at Asda said it makes his blood boil when people park in disabled bays without a disability.
“No one bothers to check who is parking in the disabled bays. I have seen lots of people without a Blue Badge park in the bays. Last week I saw a Taxi park in a disabled space. Something needs to be done, and supermarkets need to stop ignoring disabled people.”
Although the problem is nationwide, we decided to do our own research in Lincolnshire and see how many people abuse the disabled bays. We visited Skegness, Boston, Grimsby, Lincoln, and Grantham, and we were shocked by the results.
We visited Skegness Tesco for an hour and witnessed four cars parked in the disabled bays with no Blue Badge on display. While in Skegness we visited Morrisons where all the disabled bays were used by Blue Badge holders but were shocked at the limited number of disabled bays.
When we travelled to Boston Tesco there were six cars parked in the disabled bays without a Blue Badge, and at Asda in Grantham, there were five cars parked without a Blue Badge. We found similar results in Lincoln and Cleethorpes, showing how motorists and supermarkets are ignoring the needs of those who rely on a disabled space.
During our research, we spoke to fifty-five blue badge holders and asked them what they would like supermarkets to do to stop those without a disability from parking in disabled bays. The overall feeling is for supermarkets to patrol disabled bays and issue parking tickets to those who take advantage of the disabled bays.
We have contacted Tesco and Asda for a comment on our findings and at the present moment they have not commented.
