The comedian Peter Kay said in one of his routines a few years ago that he liked to take his mam shopping, because in doing so, that allowed him to legitimately park in a parent and child parking space. The thought of a grown man in his mid to late forties taking his mum shopping, just to park in a parent and child parking space tickled me. It seems to me that Peter Kay is by no means alone in failing to understand the rules relating to these spaces and over the years it seems to me that the definition of parent and child seems questionable. I question sometimes whether people feel that they are eligible simply because they were once children themselves as I sit in supermarket car parks and observe the motorists who select either parent and child parking spaces or the ones designated for blue badge holders. I thought that readers might value knowing what the rules are relating to each of these special parking bays The rules for parent and child spaces vary, the general rule is that people can use these bays if they are visiting a store with a child under twelve years of age, normally in a car seat, but with both these and blue badge bays, it is not illegal to park there, they are advisory spaces according to the British Standards code of practice.
My observation as I sit in car parks is that possibly one in three people park legitimately, while the majority of people totally disregard the rules. Some people drive ridiculously large vehicles which they would struggle to fit into a standard parking place, so they need a wider space to accommodate them, rather than parking in the farthest spot, they hog the one nearest the store. Then there are those people who drive up the car park at high speed, and showing very little parking skill, they throw them into a wide parking bay, rather than gently parking in a standard width bay. Then there are those who simply want to walk the shortest possible distance to the store, and there appears to be a culture of people who clearly think that the bays are for those who are nipping in for a single item purchase. My wife has arthritis, and we need to park in a blue badge bay, not because she can only walk short distances, but because she needs to have the door open fully to be able to get out of the car and there isn’t enough space in standard bays. The same applies to parents with small children, they need wider spaces to lift children in and out of car seats, and to get prams and pushchairs down the side of the car and have a safe place for an older child to stand, while a younger child is sorted out. I’m sad to say that this all makes my blood boil as I see somebody struggling while other selfish people have hogged the bays designated to help them without any justification.
You might think that there are much bigger issues in the world for me to be getting excited about, who cares about a bit of thoughtless parking when these people aren’t even breaking the law? but there is a much more serious issue at play here, which is why I get concerned. My problem is the attitude of people who park in spaces clearly designated for people who have particular need and when they do, they make a very clear statement that they don’t care about other people. In a world with all the issues we are facing currently, I long to see more kindness, more help for those who need it and less selfishness in the world, and I am always aware that if that is to change, it needs to start with me. I hope that you feel the same.