Access Magazine Issue January 2014 edition, published 20th December 2013
This month, Brad Francis explains why he’s gradually being driven to distraction…
Now that I’m well into my early 50s, I’m starting to feel that I need to be ticking certain boxes. I’m no longer ‘middleaged’ (or ‘middle-youth’, as I prefer to call it), so there are certain things I have to be able to do by now. Fry an egg with a soft yolk, wash my own laundry – and feel comfortable before setting off on a car journey. Because, every time I sit behind the wheel of my beloved Motability chariot, I always seem to feel anxious at the prospect of finding somewhere to park my car in the general proximity of the place I intend to visit.
One of the frustrating things about driving when you are disabled are the many baffling laws governing accessible parking that you have negotiate. Hence my many battles with Transport for London (TfL) and the reason that I essentially have the City of Westminster’s parking authority on speed dial…
Authoritarianism and apprehension
The last penalty charge notice (PCN) I received was given because I had parked my car in a designated Blue Badge parking bay ‘Outside the permitted times of stopping’. The smirking traffic officer quoted the regulations at me verbatim while printing off my PCN – “There is signage in place, which indicates that stopping is prohibited Monday to Saturday from 7am till 7pm, except 10am till 4pm” Why is it that they always seem to have one of those really annoying voices that make you want to slap them with a wet fish? Disabled or otherwise, we’ve all been there?
In any case, what he was saying didn’t really cut any ice with me, as I had a consultation with my neurologist at 5:15pm. The time was coming up to 4:53pm. There was nowhere else to park. I had been waiting for this appointment for months, and really had no alternative, so I took the ticket. That’ll be £60 please, citizen.
Is it any wonder that disabled travellers are apprehensive about getting from A to B? If we choose not to drive, then we have to endure public transport, where we’re ousted by prams, or the side of the road where we’re ignored by taxis. It really fills you with dread.
Able-bodied commuters will know how irritating it is for them to see a wheelchair user attempting to board a bus, train or tube in rush hour. You can really sense the disapproving looks and general lack of goodwill as you elbow and nudge your way through a crowded bus or carriage. From our point of view, it’s a humiliating experience. Why don’t transport workers receive disability awareness training? As a disabled person, I want to feel confident when venturing outside. I want to have a degree of independence and maintain a sense of control over my own life. For those reasons, you can probably appreciate why it is that I choose to drive – I don’t really have any other choice.
Paying the price for equality
Another spiky issue is that of disabled parking at NHS Hospitals. The parking charges they have in place are often absurdly extortionate, with some 37 NHS Trusts currently levying charges on disabled drivers, in spite of the protections afforded to them by their Blue Badges. This is apparently because some Trusts believe that ‘All drivers should be treated equally’ – but it has been argued that disabled people tend to be frequent hospital visitors, have longer appointments and should therefore be entitled to their own fair and appropriate car-parking concessions. I can only hope that common sense prevails and that some sensible thinking is injected into the debate – please?…
It’s time to get real. More needs to be done to improve parking and fuelling facilities, and other types of transport provision for disabled people, so that they can access the goods and services that they need – when visiting hospital, going shopping, meeting friends for a meal. The current legislation needs to be reviewed and re-assessed urgently, because right now, is there equality for all?
Don’t make me laugh. I could do with some air and a way to get rid of the stress – maybe a road-trip’s in order…
