In praise of parking inspectors.

[Sturdee]

In another thread I noticed that some of you don't like parking inspectors. I know that they are often criticised for doing their job.

Today I had to take my wife to an inner city hospital adjacent to Melbourne Uni for a visit to her diabetes specialist. Three times I had to drive around the block before a parking space became available.

Whilst parking I noticed a parking inspector coming along and I got out of the car and followed him as he went along and booked those that had overstayed the meter.

Out of the 20 cars there were 15 that he had to book for overstaying. That may be an expansive lesson for those owners but may be they will learn so that the next time others won't have problems parking there.

Parking inspectors make sure that parking spaces are not clogged up by lawbreakers and they deserve our praise.


Peter.

[JDarvall]

Your not an old parking inspector, are you mate ? ...or do you have mate whos one ?

yes, yes, serious, there really lovely blokes, parking inspectors. There only human too. right. ? ....

yeh , it must be a hard job.

[bitingmidge]

And what about cleaners.

What a thankless task that is. Good on you the lot of you!

P

[namtrak]

nice thread, I think I threw some praise to telemarketers a while back in a similar vein. Whilst not a particularly productive career choice, at the end of the day the people calling us are just regular punters trying to earn buck (and rest assured if they are from the sub-continent then the buck is not much at all!!!).

I try to be courteous to check-out chicks and waiters, I reckon neither are on a good wicket and cop their fair share each day!!

[Gingermick]

Yes, I try to be courteous to everyone I meet unless they are rude or persist in being utterly incompetant. :confused: :mad: :eek: (I never had that smilies button on the side before today)

[Schtoo]

Sorry not buying.

Especially when I went to pay the fine some slimeball gave me before he wrote the thing.

See, it was written at a clearway at 4pm, I got to the car at about quarter to 4, and there's a ticket on the front windscreen.

Got the ticket into the council offices a minute before 4pm, so I obviously wasn't illegally parked, because the clearway and the council offices are about 10 minutes apart.

Needless to say they dropped it.

After a slightly hollow threat of my finding a lawyer and the media.

I'm all for someone earning their way, but when they are in a job where the time is critical, you might think that a scrupulous and professional inspector might take a few seconds to check their $%^%^%$ watch is right.

Or is that asking too much?

[DPB]

I have a mate who parked his car in Box Hill in a metered parking location. He paid for two hours (the maximum time), but had to leave to drive into the city for an unexpected task. Upon his return, he parked in the same area, but a different spot. He duly plugged the meter for another two hours. When he returned to his car, prior to the expiry time, he had a ticket. When he enquired why, he was told that he had moved his car within the same zone and stayed beyond the two hour limit.

The parking inspector may not be to blame, but the law that allows this is crazy!

[DanP]

It is not the law that allows it. If you move your car, your time starts again. The Peanut is wrong and I would be contesting it.

If the sign is a 2P sign, it allows you to park in any space indicated by the sign for a continuous period of not more than two hours. The definition of parking is something to the effect of stopping your car and leaving it. Therefore, if you return and get into your car and drive it out of the space and place it into another space, you have started again. You are not allowed to just keep feeding the meter, you are allowed to drive away, for no matter how short a distance, and then enter another, or even the same parking space to park your car. I wouldn't advise parking in the same one though, unless you like going to court to contest tickets.

Dan

[DanP]

I hate grey ghosts with a passion. I once parked at the rear of the City Patrol Group, in a loading zone, but outside the listed times. I was working night shift and was due to knock off two hours prior to the zone coming into effect again. Unfortunately, got a crook and copped a couple of hours OT, returning to my car 5 mins past nine (the listed start time). Sure enough, ticket on screen, and grey ghost nowhere to be seen. The issue time on the ticket was exactly 9.00 am. Getting the ticket in itself is not a problem. I was parked contrary to a sign...however, the two cars behind me were parked in the same zone had no tickets on them.

I saw that there was a business card on the dash of each for the cafe at the end of the lane. I went there and there was the grey ghost enjoying an undoubtedly free coffee. After establishing that it was he who had issued the fine, I asked his reason for not doing his job in fining the other cars, he told me it was not my business who he booked. When I queried his ethics he told me that there was nothing he could do etc. Since that point, they have received no favours from me. :mad:

Dan

[Barry_White]

The only time I ever got booked for parking was when I parked in a school bus zone that was from 3.00pm to 4.00pm. I had parked there at 2.00pm and I got held up and didn't get back until 3.15pm and the parking copper had written a ticket. The only problem was that when he wrote out the ticket it wrote the time down as 2.10pm instead of 3.10pm.

I caught up to him and showed him his mistake and all he said was "well the're the breaks just send it in and point it out and they will drop it."

I used to work with a guy who always parked illegally and he had a mate with a service station. If he ever got booked he would just get his mate to write a bill out for a repair of some kind and send it in with a cheque with the fine and they always would send his cheque back to him and let him off.

[Greg Ward]

I refuse to pay, unless I see one lurking.
I get caught around once a year, but am around $400 ahead at this stage.
I remember when I could park in central Sydney or on the promenade at Bondi with no problems, now I can't park in the suburbs without some strage equipment suggesting I use a credit card as it's easier.
No, i'm self insured...... so far so good.....
Greg

[AlexS]

It is not the law that allows it. If you move your car, your time starts again. The Peanut is wrong and I would be contesting it.

If the sign is a 2P sign, it allows you to park in any space indicated by the sign for a continuous period of not more than two hours. The definition of parking is something to the effect of stopping your car and leaving it. Therefore, if you return and get into your car and drive it out of the space and place it into another space, you have started again. You are not allowed to just keep feeding the meter, you are allowed to drive away, for no matter how short a distance, and then enter another, or even the same parking space to park your car. I wouldn't advise parking in the same one though, unless you like going to court to contest tickets.

Dan

Quite a few years ago in Sydney, motorcyclists protesting against the lack of MC parking occupied all the parking meters along Castlereagh St, one bike per car space, and stayed with their bikes to stop cars moving in. Every hour or whatever, they all swapped spaces. Parking cops couldn't do a thing about it.