It's part of a wider lack of civilised behaviour, of aggression and selfishness caused by fear. I don't know if it's really worse than it was, but I notice the differences between England and France on my rare trips to England. There is little financial help for the disabled here, and you can't be registered disabled unless you are tetraplegic or more (even though I can't walk at all, I'm not eligible!). However, people are so helpful and I never feel the fear that comes over me sometimes when in England. Nobody without a badge parks in spaces allocated for blue-badges even when everywhere else is full. In London, I've had my wheelchair knocked over (with me in it) by someone in too much of a hurry to go around it; then he swore at me for getting in his way. He seemed to think that was reasonable.