The disabled do have priority parking on public car parks and highways, by way of a blue badge system that allows parking in areas and bays designated for them. Supermarket car parks are private property, and they will prioritise based on which customer base they want to target or attract, and will make provision along those lines. If you don't like that principle, vote with your feet and don't shop with them.
This is what I don't understand - do people just object to the spaces on principle? Otherwise there's no need to 'vote with your feet' - people without kids are as free to park in P&C spaces as people with kids. No one is stopping anyone using them, so where lies the objection to their existence?
You are right it's not illegal but they can ask people to move or fine them depending on their policy which is a disincentive to park there.
It is leapfrogging where they are closer to the shop than disabled spaces. They are also leapfrogging groups with mobility problems such as those on crutches, the elderly etc as they do not have any specially reserved spaces.
But people with mobility problems can park in either the P&C bays or the disabled bays as to do so is not illegal even if you do not fit the recommended criteria. I thinking you are seeing problems were there are none
Anyone who offers parking spaces has the right to fine people who disobey the rules under which they offer them. Try parking for longer than allowed in some, or not buying anything and you might discover that there are penalty charges.[/QUOTE}
Rubbish if they are not the council, then they cant fine anyone. and if you do find yourself with a penalty charge you can tell them to shove it where the sun doesn't shine and there's nothing they can do about it
As for disabled bays, yes its not possible to enforce them with the use of penalty's etc on privately owned car parks. and people who park there should have a genuine need as a result of a disability.
However in my opinion this important requirement is massively devalued by the existence of parent/child bays
But people with mobility problems can park in either the P&C bays or the disabled bays as to do so is not illegal even if you do not fit the recommended criteria. I thinking you are seeing problems were there are none
Maybe. It never occurred to me that people could park in disabled or P&C bays if they please. Do you think most people would know that they could do that if they had a problem with mobility? I still think that should be a lot clearer perhaps by marking them them more clearly.
Third line sums it up , drives me & my fiance mad. Another kick in the stomach for women like me struggling to conceive. Parents get enough special treatment as it is.
You are being ridiculously over sensitive. I only have one ovary myself, and may never conceive. But I don't even connect that fact with the fact that parent and child spaces exist. Next you'll be saying One Born every Minute shouldn't be on TV because it's offensive to you.
Sourpuss Savastores with parking for the bitter and the narcisissistic inside the foyer, with staff on hand spouting a constant stream of angry abuse about kids and breeders. No children or families allowed, just follow the signs marked with lemons to the frozen readymeals and tissues.
Third line sums it up , drives me & my fiance mad. Another kick in the stomach for women like me struggling to conceive. Parents get enough special treatment as it is.
You feel mad and kicked in the stomach because of Parent and Child parking spaces at supermarkets because you and your fiancé are struggling to have kids?
Parent and child spaces are a marketing strategy employed by supermarkets to attract and retain a higher spending category of customer. There are no other reasons for their existence. That is fine, supermarkets are entitled to try and maximise their customer base. However since they can't and don't enforce their exclusive use by parents in any meaningful way I will continue to use them sometimes in the expectation that they will be happy to accept my custom as well.
The Disabled had no choice in the matter and so should rightly get the help they need.
Yet the open yer legs and drop em brigade freely chose to get into that condition and they get helped with benefits and special parking places over and above people who managed to keep their legs shut.
That's the way this world works: Get yourself up the duff and you have it made. Don't do that and you get no special treatment at all.
Why do you think every chav in existence drops out as many as they can as soon as they can? KERRRRRRCHING! (And you are even given a special parking place whilst you are spending your extra benefits.
Something is seriously wrong when dropping out babies is the way to win.
How many disabled badge holders are truly disabled?
I don't see the need for parent and child spaces at all. They didn't have them when I had children and I coped just fine
I do agree with you however it is easier to have a wider space when getting children in and out of cars. It seems that most people agree on that point. The big disagreement is, as my original question, why do they need to be close to the entrance.
1. The safety aspect - children shouldn't be 'running loose' in a car park, they should be closely supervised.
2. Mothers struggle with children and trolleys - surely this is an age-old problem and I can imagine that our mothers and grandmothers had to struggle onto a bus with their children and shopping too.
A lot of the posts haven't been nice in their tone which isn't necessary but I still don't think I have found an argument in favour of the parent and children spaces being close to the store. Let's face it many people argue now that we should be walking more with our children - they have 'Walk to School' weeks etc - so perhaps the supermarkets can encourage this by moving the parent and child spaces to the back of the car park?
1. The safety aspect - children shouldn't be 'running loose' in a car park, they should be closely supervised.
2. Mothers struggle with children and trolleys - surely this is an age-old problem and I can imagine that our mothers and grandmothers had to struggle onto a bus with their children and shopping too.
)
1) Children can easily wriggle off from their mums and run in front of cars. Surely you know this? Some children seem to make it their entire mission in life to get in front of a car.
2) Our mothers and grandmothers also had to wash clothes on a scrubbing board and walk 3 miles to the nearest well every day for water. It doesn't mean that we need to do that these days. Just because people coped in the past, doesn't mean they shouldn't take advantage of a modern convenience.
the number of children killed and seriously injured on the roads each year has been falling in recent years.
Department for Transport data shows that the number of deaths and serious injuries in 2011 was 21% lower than the average for 2005-09. Although this change is extremely positive, there is still work to be done to prevent children and young people from dying on the roads. Road accidents remain the leading cause of accidental death for children and they can cause life-changing injuries including loss of limbs, spinal injuries and head injuries. http://makingthelink.net/child-deaths-road-traffic-accidents
So, although we all 'coped' in the past, in fact more children were being killed or seriously injured than nowadays. I presume this will be partly due to improved safety measures. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be any separate figures for accidents in supermarket car parks but you know what they say - Every little helps
1) Children can easily wriggle off from their mums and run in front of cars. Surely you know this? Some children seem to make it their entire mission in life to get in front of a car.
But, as a parent, it is your responsibility to make sure your child doesn't wriggle off and run under a car!
A lot of the posts haven't been nice in their tone which isn't necessary but I still don't think I have found an argument in favour of the parent and children spaces being close to the store. Let's face it many people argue now that we should be walking more with our children - they have 'Walk to School' weeks etc - so perhaps the supermarkets can encourage this by moving the parent and child spaces to the back of the car park?
You know what? Perhaps the supermarkets just don't want to move them, and are like the rest of normality who think that this griping about them is ridiculous?
You know what? Perhaps the supermarkets just don't want to move them, and are like the rest of normality who think that this griping about them is ridiculous?
I didn't start the post as a gripe - it was a genuine question.
A few people have said that you can park in the Parent & Child spaces as it's not a 'law'. I did. Once. Mum has a blue disabled badge and the disabled bays were all full so, reluctantly, I parked in a Parent & Child space. As we got out of the car a woman came along and gave me a mouthful of abuse. So yes, you can park in those bays if you don't mind being shouted at. Never again.
For God's sake, this is a question that keeps coming up time after time, surely it is down to common sense. Parents with children are far safer closer to the doors and with wider bays to enable them to put the children into the car and then load the car up.
If you put parent parking at the end of the car park your asking for potential problems with children being negotiated close to moving vehicles across a vast expanse of private ground that technically has no legal duty to apply the rules of the road. The Dago Heads I see driving the wrong way around supermarket car parks beggars belief!
As for people saying 'It was not like that for me' well move on with the times, there are more cars now, life has changed, mums work and indeed dad actually takes the kids shopping too........whoop de wooo!!! Burn your tartan shopping trolley it's 2014
I didn't start the post as a gripe - it was a genuine question.
A few people have said that you can park in the Parent & Child spaces as it's not a 'law'. I did. Once. Mum has a blue disabled badge and the disabled bays were all full so, reluctantly, I parked in a Parent & Child space. As we got out of the car a woman came along and gave me a mouthful of abuse. So yes, you can park in those bays if you don't mind being shouted at. Never again.
If you knew me you wouldn't need to wonder about the validity of these statements but this shows that you make assumptions about people. Not a nice thing to do.
Comments
This is what I don't understand - do people just object to the spaces on principle? Otherwise there's no need to 'vote with your feet' - people without kids are as free to park in P&C spaces as people with kids. No one is stopping anyone using them, so where lies the objection to their existence?
But people with mobility problems can park in either the P&C bays or the disabled bays as to do so is not illegal even if you do not fit the recommended criteria. I thinking you are seeing problems were there are none
Maybe. It never occurred to me that people could park in disabled or P&C bays if they please. Do you think most people would know that they could do that if they had a problem with mobility? I still think that should be a lot clearer perhaps by marking them them more clearly.
You are being ridiculously over sensitive. I only have one ovary myself, and may never conceive. But I don't even connect that fact with the fact that parent and child spaces exist. Next you'll be saying One Born every Minute shouldn't be on TV because it's offensive to you.
You feel mad and kicked in the stomach because of Parent and Child parking spaces at supermarkets because you and your fiancé are struggling to have kids?
Are you being serious?
This place gets more bonkers by the day.
How many disabled badge holders are truly disabled?
Well now and then is not the same.
Just because you didn't have it doesn't mean others shouldn't.
I'm sure we've had this conversation before but....the bigger spaces help when getting baby car seats out of cars.
They are not essential but they make life slightly easier.
I don't understand why people have a problem with something that makes life easier for others.
I do agree with you however it is easier to have a wider space when getting children in and out of cars. It seems that most people agree on that point. The big disagreement is, as my original question, why do they need to be close to the entrance.
1. The safety aspect - children shouldn't be 'running loose' in a car park, they should be closely supervised.
2. Mothers struggle with children and trolleys - surely this is an age-old problem and I can imagine that our mothers and grandmothers had to struggle onto a bus with their children and shopping too.
A lot of the posts haven't been nice in their tone which isn't necessary but I still don't think I have found an argument in favour of the parent and children spaces being close to the store. Let's face it many people argue now that we should be walking more with our children - they have 'Walk to School' weeks etc - so perhaps the supermarkets can encourage this by moving the parent and child spaces to the back of the car park?
1) Children can easily wriggle off from their mums and run in front of cars. Surely you know this? Some children seem to make it their entire mission in life to get in front of a car.
2) Our mothers and grandmothers also had to wash clothes on a scrubbing board and walk 3 miles to the nearest well every day for water. It doesn't mean that we need to do that these days. Just because people coped in the past, doesn't mean they shouldn't take advantage of a modern convenience.
Department for Transport data shows that the number of deaths and serious injuries in 2011 was 21% lower than the average for 2005-09. Although this change is extremely positive, there is still work to be done to prevent children and young people from dying on the roads. Road accidents remain the leading cause of accidental death for children and they can cause life-changing injuries including loss of limbs, spinal injuries and head injuries.
http://makingthelink.net/child-deaths-road-traffic-accidents
So, although we all 'coped' in the past, in fact more children were being killed or seriously injured than nowadays. I presume this will be partly due to improved safety measures. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be any separate figures for accidents in supermarket car parks but you know what they say - Every little helps
But, as a parent, it is your responsibility to make sure your child doesn't wriggle off and run under a car!
Some people have more than one wriggly kid.
I'm starting to think you're just on a wind-up.
You know what? Perhaps the supermarkets just don't want to move them, and are like the rest of normality who think that this griping about them is ridiculous?
So who would you hold responsible for the safety of your child(ren) when out and about??
I think I'm the one being wound up - seriously I do.
I didn't start the post as a gripe - it was a genuine question.
A few people have said that you can park in the Parent & Child spaces as it's not a 'law'. I did. Once. Mum has a blue disabled badge and the disabled bays were all full so, reluctantly, I parked in a Parent & Child space. As we got out of the car a woman came along and gave me a mouthful of abuse. So yes, you can park in those bays if you don't mind being shouted at. Never again.
If you put parent parking at the end of the car park your asking for potential problems with children being negotiated close to moving vehicles across a vast expanse of private ground that technically has no legal duty to apply the rules of the road. The Dago Heads I see driving the wrong way around supermarket car parks beggars belief!
As for people saying 'It was not like that for me' well move on with the times, there are more cars now, life has changed, mums work and indeed dad actually takes the kids shopping too........whoop de wooo!!! Burn your tartan shopping trolley it's 2014
I don't believe either of these statements
Thank you.
If you knew me you wouldn't need to wonder about the validity of these statements but this shows that you make assumptions about people. Not a nice thing to do.