"You are currently in a queue"

I Know because we're British we should know how to queue, but if we never have any chance of getting to the head of the queue what happens?

This is where I am at the moment.  I'm a wheelchair user because I can't walk without the the aid of crutches for short distances or a wheelchair for longer.  I have space to park on the road outside my house on a busy road that's used as a 'rat-run' between more major roads by all and sundry.  

When I get out of my car I need time to get sorted.  My balance isn't great and I have to get my crutch out and get vertical again after sitting in the car.  This sometimes means I need a few seconds with the door open in the road.  Then I need time to walk along my car and out of the roadway onto the pavement.  This all takes a little bit longer than someone who's able bodied (not sure of the political correctness of that phrase, but that's another entry).

Speed limits as a target

Sadly the same people who se the speed limit as a target, are the ones who can't wait a few seconds longer.  I'm sorry.  I'd gladly trade my disability for a new set of legs so I can get out of your way sooner.  I'm straying off my point though.  I've asked the council for a bay to be marked outside my house so it's a bit clearer to other road users that I'm disabled.

The local council will come and paint some lines on the road and mark the word "DISABLED" alongside the space.  I've asked for this and been told that it takes a long time to get done.  The council has to come and assess me and then the Highways Agency has to come out three times to do...something...?

Still waiting...

I started this process over four months ago.  Three months ago I received a letter saying that I'd be contacted about it but there is a waiting list.

Since then I've had three near misses with cars and a large van, forcing their way past me when I'm trying to get out of the car.  So I thought it was time to get an update on how far along the process I am.  It turns out I'm in a queue.  The queue is long and the team that assesses people also assesses hospital discharge patients in their homes! I'm guessing that people who've just been discharged from hospital will have a much higher priority than a parking space and rightly so.  But that begs the question, when will the disabled spaces ever get assessed?  I'll let you know when I find out.