MAY I offer my concern for the lack of recognition of disabled drivers by insensitive and rude motorists and bikers?

After reading a very good letter by an outraged Daily Echo reader I felt very sorry for his or her plight.

I am also disabled, and am in constant niggling pain with osteoarthritis in my knees and legs. I also have terrible side-effects with a consumption of prescribed medication, and walk (or try to) with two sticks. I am also an advanced motorist.

Advanced motorists, I find, are no different to other motorists. We, as a rule, are supposed to show ‘thought and sensibility’ to other motorists – I do. Yet when I need to park in a disabled parking bay, I find an able-bodied motorist glides in before me, locks his car and walks off before my eyes.

With my disabled parking permit to hand, I then have the annoyance of trying to find somewhere to park which is hopefully near to where I’m trying to get, mainly the doctor’s surgery. On failing that, I’ve had to ring into the surgery either to cancel my appointment or go home and call out a taxi.

One day these rude and selfish drivers will be disabled and have to go through what I and hundreds of disabled people have to experience.

Being in severe pain is bad enough and being disabled limits us in what we wish to do. I know my quality of life feels like zero on a daily basis.

Being expected to pay in certain car parks is also unfair. We (disabled people) are paying dearly for being disabled. The number of times I’ve found to my delight a parking disabled place, only to find that the slot machine is the other side of the car park, thus the thought of having to walk over to it with two sticks and money is a nightmare – that sort of walk to able-bodied people is to me like walking a marathon! So on finding the parking place is too far away again I’ve just given up.

I once lived life to the full – six years ago, running up and down stairs, parking my car and jumping in and out of it – when I wasn’t disabled.

I strongly agree with the letter writer (November 11). It does appear that as we are disabled we have outlived our usefulness.

NAME & ADDRESS SUPPLIED.