Elaine Hughes describes her blue badge as her ‘life’ (Picture: AKP Branding Stories)
The person who broke into my car a few weeks ago had probably been watching me come and go for a while.
They targeted me specifically, and I know what they were looking for: My blue badge.
My car is broken into several times a year whether my badge is on display or not. Thieves in my local area know my car, and gamble that I might have hidden it somewhere inside. I guarantee it will happen again.
The first time my car window was smashed in, I rang to report the crime and when I mentioned I was disabled, the police officer immediately said that thieves would have been after my blue badge.
In my experience, they go from anything from £500 to £1,000. One of my stolen badges turned up in a Ferrari; another was located in Sheffield, hundreds of miles from my London home.
Research from the Local Government Association (LGA) suggests that using a Blue Badge in London can save its holder around £6,000 a year on parking charges. The Department of Transport revealed that Blue Badge theft rose from 2,921 in 2016/17 to 4,246 in 2017/18 – a 45% increase in a year.
I don’t see this trend reversing.
There is an assumption that blue badge theft is a ‘victimless’ crime because it’s ‘just a piece of paper’. It is not – nor is it an issue of disabled people wanting a better space.
Behind every blue badge there is a person like me, and I wish more people realised the physical and financial impact.
My blue badge is my life. I have Spastic Quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy, Osteoarthritis and Chronic Pain, all of which affect my mobility; I use a walker and cannot walk long distances, so being able to park close to wherever I am going is vital.
I must have spent thousands on repairing damage to my car (Picture: Elaine Hughes)
Getting my first blue badge at 17 gave me a freedom I had never experienced before. My parents didn’t drive so it gave me the chance to go out and live my life like any teenager. In the 40 years since, it has been stolen roughly 10 times, and each time my life has stopped.
I become a virtual prisoner in my home. I have missed engagement parties, weddings and birthdays because I can’t park in a disabled space near to the venue.
If I have to cancel work meetings because I can’t park in town, that’s a day’s wages gone. I have had to cancel hospital appointments, which has a knock-on effect on my health.
I am not the only one impacted, either: I have to rely on friends and family to drive me somewhere, which means they need to take time out of their lives, too.
I am more prone to falls, fatigue and injury (Picture: Elaine Hughes)
My badge also ensures my …read more
Source:: Metro
