Disabled Motorist
Fighting for the rights of Disabled Motorists since 1922
What is your town or city doing for the European Year of Disabled People?
I live in Wolverhampton and we are building a regeneration zone, which is great. It takes up about a seventh of the town of centre and looks very pretty, with its cobbled road surface and York stone pavements (some of it rough type). The dropdowns in the footpath are of cobbles to match the road and it has cost millions of pounds. We are supposed to be getting an award for this, which is wonderful.
I feel they deserve an award, as this is how to keep disabled people out of the town centre — and it’s not unlawful, it doesn’t contravene the DDA.
If there are great things like this happening in your town, then with more private investment they can force all these moaning disabled people out of the area and stop them working too. Now, that’s what I call regeneration!
The same with public transport. For £4.50 you can get a bus/rail pass which you can use all day to travel all over the can get a special taxi into town. Now that’s what I call equality!
B Appleby
Wolverhampton
I am absolutely disgusted at the fact of having to incur congestion charges.
I suffer from COPD to the extent of having to require oxygen even when I am out in my car.Therefore I have to carry sufficient oxygen not only to complete my journey but also to have enough with me nearly,in my parked car. My car is my lifeline and I have to have it close by to have access to my oxygen.Public transport is not an option for me.
I am on incapacity benefit and can barely afford the petrol to run the car, never mind having to pay congestion charges.
What is going to happen to people like me,who will not be able to afford
to go to these places?Yet again,disabled people are becoming second class citizens.
S Taylor
Lincolnshire
I thought some of my fellow readers might find this tip useful.
Earlier last year I had my bladder removed and now have to wear a bag, which needs emptying every two to three hours. I also have MS. I went to Germany last September by coach and devised this method of dealing with the problem.
Open a seam of about three inches in your trousers at the appropriate place and sew on some velcro. Cut a piece of tubing from your old night bag and get a two pint plastic milk bottle with a screw top. Put the tube and bottle into a non-see through shopping bag to take with you on the coach.
With the shopping bag placed between you and your partner, I found
that if s/he sat forward when you needed to empty no-one was any the wiser about your activity.
This can be used on any long journey by any means of transport. You
obviously need to be discreet, but I have even used it in a cafe, under the table.
L Harris
Birmingham
I have recently taken delivery of a Ford Focus,3-door Zetec 1.6i,automatic.
As much as I agreed with the majority of what Paul Talbot DM,Dec/Jan)
had to say,there are one or two points that any prospective buyer/leaser might like to know.
Air conditioning is an optional extra, as are electric door mirrors (except on the Ghia model).The front electric windows do have a “one touch ” facility,,on the driver ’s side only.I use a steering wheel ball,and have never blown the horn when using it (maybe the one Paul tried was fitted in the wrong position).
I don ’t think the 1600 engine is powerful enough for the estate version, but try the three door Paul and you ’ll be surprised at the fuel economy and punch.
The four speed auto has a magic little green button,just under the T-grip:click that when you need extra “zoom ” and see the world fly past.But don ’t forget to unclick it again,or you ’ll see the fuel tank empty before your very eyes.
I recently took mine to France,did over 1000 touring round,and the car
returned about 40/42mpg.
G Hayball
Dorse
I have been campaigning for about eights years over the problems of parking on pavements,including the police.
I have sent off photographs of police cars that were parked on the pavements, but I have to say they don ’t want to know.
This indiscriminate parking by inconsiderate antisocial motorists, including the police,will only be stopped if the large campaigning organisations take up the gauntlet and campaign on behalf of
those who are less able.
I will keep up the campaigning I have been doing and am writing to the
Secretary of State under the heading “True Inclusion of lthe Less Abled ”.
This is a reference to the Department for Transport ’s latest document entitled “Inclusive Mobility,a guide to best practice on access to pedestrian and transport infrastructure ”.In this document,it does
mention the problems of vehicles parked on the pavements.
My argument is,how can you have an integrated transport policy if you are barred from the bus stops,railway stations or taxi ranks due to vehicles blocking the pavements?
T Wyer
Warwickshire
Surely,the best way to stop the unscrupulous driver is to shame him or
her?
The method I suggest is to have a dome placed in each of the marked bays. The dome would be activated when a vehicle drove up to it,which would set off a flashing light and voice message saying “this space is reserved for disabled drivers.If you do not qualify, please vacate this space.The vehicle registration number will be photographed in five minutes ”.
The flashing light would only be extinguished by the vehicle leaving the
space,or by use of a swipe card (which only eligible motorists would have). This procedure would surely shame any offending drivers?
Of course,it assumes that local authorities would be willing to supply
badge-holders with the relevant swipe card.Perhaps the supermarket chains would contribute towards the cost?
V CPride
Cornwall
I have found out that there is no longer parking for disabled people at Euston, Kings Cross, St Pancras and Liverpool Street stations in
London. There is some at Waterloo, but only for one hour maximum. It appears that all of the parking is owned by private companies and no longer belongs to the railways.
It used to be easy to park at stations, but not any more. I have to ask myself why, and can only think that it is all about money and profits. It is not profitable to help disabled people who want to park their cars at the stations for the weekend or midweek.
Disabled people now have to leave their cars at home and struggle on public transport to get to the railway stations, which can be very stressful. It is also expensive and it seems there is always extra expense for disabled people to meet out of their own pockets.
I can remember a time when parking was much easier
and disabled people had much more freedom. This is no longer the case and it seems more difficult for disabled people to get around. Less
parking means that disabled people are more restricted and find their social life is severely cut back. It seems to me that people have forgotten the rights of disabled people.
M Newson
London
I am a wheelchair user. I have a disabled parking bay outside my home which I cannot use unless my badge is displayed.
I need my wheelchair, it is not a luxury item; and I need to be able to park near my house. The powers that be state I have to display my blue
badge. I cannot use a photocopy because it isassumed I must be a cheat if I do. Why can’t I be presumed innocent until found guilty?
My car has been broken into more than once, for the badge, and will continue to be until a better system is found.
Common sense and police advice is to hide anything valuable in your car to avoid it being broken into. But we are told we have to display the
badge, thus rendering vulnerable people even more vulnerable. The people who steal badges, and those who misuse them, are beneath
contempt, but I and other genuinely disabled people are the ones who pay the price.
There are other possibilities:
• let us display a photocopy with the original ready for inspection at all times;
•have stolen badge numbers circulated to traffic wardens, maybe an
electronic scanner would do a quick check;
• let users of designated parking bays display their designation permit which relates to their vehicle and their space, without the badge;
•for people with one principal vehicle, let the badge have the registration number clearly displayed thereby rendering it unstealable.
T Fox
London
I am fairly certain that the Road Traffic Act in the middle/late 1990s classified private car parks (supermarket car parks, for example) as
subject to public highway regulations. In other words, if you had an accident the police would deal with it in the same way as on the highway. Is this the way to go to deal with the problem of parking abuse?
G Knowles
by e-mail
We took a holiday at Tregoninny Farm in Cornwall, found by following up an advert in Disabled Motorist. This turned out to be superb. The accommodation was most definitely the best we’ve experienced.
My wife has MS and uses a wheelchair, so the accommodation has to
be good. At Tregoninny Farm, the converted farm buildings have been done to the highest calibre and the breakfasts provided were excllent. I would recommend this to anyone who would like the best at a very reasonable price.
In complete contrast, we went to a caravan site in Poole which stated it had caravans adapted for disabled people.
On being given the key, we went to the caravan only to find the shower had a six inch lip and my wife was therefore unable to use it. The wash hand basin was so positioned that even with a mobile hoist it was very awkward for my wife to use the toilet, and there were only grab rails on one side of the toilet.
Due to the positioning of the centre support and height of the bed, it was difficult to get my wife onto it. We enquired at reception, but theywere unable to come up with any viable alternative, so we packed up and went home. This was very disappointing, as we have spent many good holidays in an adapted caravan on the Isle of Wight
with no problems.
Incidentally, the site at Poole was owned by a large company which has sites all over the country and is probably making a good profit. If this is the case, why can’t they make more effort to get things right?
I would be interested to hear of any other members’ experiences.
M J Frost
Hampshire
May I answer the question asked by Tony Dyoss (DM November 2002)? He wanted to know why there are baby changing facilities in disabled toilets. Twenty six years ago, national and regional disability councils jointly asked for this provision in special toilets for parents to manage severely disabled children.
I had a similar experience to Tony inmy local supermarket. After a long wait, a very young woman came out with five small children. By then I was wet and uncomfortable and when I complained I got a torrent of abusive and pretty foul language. Shortly afterwards, my wife
found in the “useful tips” pages of a magazine, advice to mums with little ones to use disabled toilets!
In 1979, the RADAR loo key scheme was introduced: a universal scheme designed to make sure that only those entitled to use the specially provided facility can do so. Why, why, why is the scheme so underused?
D H Driver
Shropshire
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