In and around the community, people are constantly driving around from one place to another: running errands, stopping off, dropping off and picking up. A car is a representation of a person’s freedom, their ability to leave their home to get out and about. For the able-bodied, this can be taken for granted.

A vehicle for disabled people should not be underestimated; it is not just another car on the road. It is a link to the outdoors, a way of getting to destinations, it enables independence and social experiences. In other aspects of life, for a disabled person, these opportunities are sometimes denied or limited. Why, then, do able-bodied drivers choose to park in disabled parking spaces?

It is such a simple manoeuvre, a turn of the wheel into the blue badge holding area, but it disregards the needs of the disabled. It is as if the disabled people’s needs are not a priority, and that the parking space, and therefore freedom granted to them, is not of importance. There is a subtle disrespect that goes hand in hand with this action; it can be difficult to appreciate the benefit of disabled parking bays unless you have experienced disability in life. It appears easy to find excuses for this behaviour, such as ‘I’m just waiting for someone’ and ’I would’ve moved if someone needed the space’ or ‘I was only stopping off for a couple of minutes’. Essentially, people tend to understand that what they are doing is morally wrong, but they do it anyway.

This should not be acceptable or excusable anymore, respect for disabled people should not be undermined. It is time that people thought twice about their needs and weighed them up against the needs of others. If, in our community, people were more compassionate about this, it would make challenging lives just that little bit easier.

Zia Eustace, Tolworth Girls' School