Can somebody clarify the rules on parking on pavements?

TrickyWicky

We wern't even required to do that either. All the cars had stone cold engine areas (grille, bonnet, scuttle) and had been parked there all day. We made ourselves known to the nearest dealers and they weren't able to do anything except move one car. We offered them the chance to find the drivers but no-one came over. When people think they're going to get a ticket, trust me, it takes them about 30 seconds to leg it to their car. 5 minutes is more than enough.

What you also forget is that you can't physically PCN 6 vehicles at the same time. Observation of 5 minutes is 5 minutes. It then takes at least another 3 minutes to write up each PCN and issue it per vehicle (manual PCNs for that council were horrible - a dreaful ordeal actually). In total thats 5 minutes plus another 9 minutes on top in total (two of us were there). No-one showed up for any of those cars in that time.

As I said earlier, the lines were clear, the drivers knew knew what they were doing, we were more than fair and under no obligation to warn anyone or give them a chance. We did, one car was moved the rest stayed put. My conscience is clear. I was employed to do a job and I did it more than fairly.

LincolnshireYokel

TrickyWicky wrote: »

My conscience is clear. I was employed to do a job and I did it more than fairly.

I do believe Martin Borman used the same defence at Nuremberg.

TrickyWicky

Comparing me to a Nazi is offensive. With my line of work you had two chances (plus other unofficial ways) to appeal any PCN I put out. You didn't get the gas chamber, shot by firing squad or worse so get a grip of yourself. Parking enforcement happens all over europe not just here. Shockingly other countries also have police forces and a national army too. In Dubai you'll get jailed for kissing someone without being married and you think CEOs are bad?

I was a fair CEO. I did a fair job. I didn't hide behind corners, I always stood by the vehicle(s) I was observing (so I could be seen etc) always timed my observation on the handheld instead of cheating the public and writing down false times in my book etc. I did a good, fair and honest job. Unfortunately its the public who WANT TWs and CEOs to be unfair so that they can slag them off - because thats how the UK works - people love to have a scapegoat.

I've no further need to defend myself. I did an honest job where the public had an honest chance to challenge my actions. You however are the one comparing me to a nazi yet YOU it seems would prefer to defend law breakers who park all over DYL and cause obstructions etc.

Would you also defend a rapist, mugger, burglar? Rules are rules and you can choose to obey or disobey. If you disobey you know there will be consequences like the rest of us.

I came into this thread to give an honest insight into how footway parking is enforced, how things work internally at a council parking dept etc. People like you are always the ones wanting to know inside information so you can try to bend the rules. When someone like me offers you that inside knowledge on a plate you then attack the person for it. Thats not really very smart is it.

mikey72

At least I had a good laugh out of it.

LincolnshireYokel

No, but I have a conscience and personally would not engage in a profession that was fundamentally nothing more than an excuse for fleecing the public. Whilst there is a need for some form of parking control in some public places, the eagerness to take money off the public, and indeed the reason to take money, is dubious and suspect. You dont NEED to take £75 off someone parked incorrectly, its hasnt cost the public purse that much, Its making profit out of public office. The people in authority have gotten into the mindset that the public, they people who employ them, are just a cash cow to milk as required on the flimsiest excuses.

I worked in the opposite end of the spectrum, i spent millions of pounds of public money as wisely as I could (despite opposition to some of my methods) providing hundreds of schools with as much IT equipment as I could for the benefit of the kids, which i considered a worthwhile reason to circumvent some of the more idiot and corrupt rules.

TrickyWicky

mikey72 wrote: »

At least I had a good laugh out of it.

You would lol

TrickyWicky

LincolnshireYokel wrote: »

No, but I have a conscience

So do I hence I always did an honest job.

LincolnshireYokel wrote: »

and personally would not engage in a profession that was fundamentally nothing more than an excuse for fleecing the public.

If you were unemployed I bet you'd be saying something totally different. Where I worked we had no targets, not much pressure over PCN numbers, a wage that I could survive on (survive, not live) and I was able to pay my way at the end of the month.

LincolnshireYokel wrote: »

Whilst there is a need for some form of parking control in some public places

Such as the yellow lines I enforced where there were 7 vehicles where I did more than I was required to do to give the motorist a fair chance..

LincolnshireYokel wrote: »

the eagerness to take money off the public, and indeed the reason to take money, is dubious and suspect.

I do agree with that and don't dispute a word of it. The problem is however that everyone including councils are stretched for money. MY employer couldn't even afford car skates to manouver cars around in an unmarked car park - needless to say one weekend when there was an event on several hundred people blocked themselves in and made us look really stupid.

The money raised by law must go towards road maintenance etc. In reality it simply means that the authority can decrease its existing budget there and spend it on something else whilst the PCN income replaces the former money allocated to road maintenance.

LincolnshireYokel wrote: »

You dont NEED to take £75 off someone parked incorrectly, its hasnt cost the public purse that much,

Which is why every council offers 14 days to pay it at a reduced amount. The higher amount is supposed to be a deterrent for pee taking. In reality its a licence for the rich to do as they want (again, thats how the UK works).

LincolnshireYokel wrote: »

Its making profit out of public office. The people in authority have gotten into the mindset that the public, they people who employ them, are just a cash cow to milk as required on the flimsiest excuses.

How else would you stop people parking all over the place then? - You could go back to issuing points on peoples licences but how many people would that put out of work? - 4 offences and they loose their wheels.

LincolnshireYokel wrote: »

I worked in the opposite end of the spectrum, i spent millions of pounds of public money as wisely as I could (despite opposition to some of my methods) providing hundreds of schools with as much IT equipment as I could for the benefit of the kids, which i considered a worthwhile reason to circumvent some of the more idiot and corrupt rules.

While I admire what you're doing, remember that much of that money came from budgets that were stripped away from parking / highway depts because they used the PCN money for them instead. In essence, much of the money you've spent was provided by people like me enforcing the parking rules and generating the funds to enable the authorities to play with their money and give more to you to spend. If parking enforcement was canned, your budget would plummet quite a lot.

As a last comment, if you think people like me don't have a heart you're very wrong. You've no idea how many times I've let people off despite printing the PCN. I told one bloke one day "It's too late mate, I've already printed it - I'm about to put it on your windscreen really fast to make it legal" (moving my arms very slowly to find a pen and an evelope). The bloke knew exactly what I was saying "Thanks mate - I appreciate it" jumped in and floored it. The bloke was dressed like he could barely afford his dinner yet alone clothes and with two kids with him there was no way I was going to makehis life harder. Its more common than you realise but CEOs don't boast about it because it would put their job on the line if their boss found out.

give_them_FA

Yes, TW doesn't make the rules. He obviously did his job with a conscience so don't take it out on him.........

esmerobbo

Simple really council needs more dosh, go out and issue more penalties. They may have turned a blind eye to parking there before, but now realise every home game is worth a few hundred quid.

Do as Coupon mad says go to Pepipoo and see if the PCN and the the regulations are in order.

hpuse

mildred1978 wrote: »

I don't think you're ever supposed to cross double yellows to park on a pavement!! That's not really any different to straddling the double yellows. And of course pavements aren't meant for cars (in their entirety).

I hope they chuck a very heavy book at you.

Isn't that a reason to say we need no more perfectionist drivers..stop looking at your blindspot folks !