DM reports that a policeman in Surrey interrupted a school Nativity play because parent's carelessly parked cars were blocking pavements and restricting access to a Doctor's surgery.
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2246692/Killjoy-PC-halts-pre-school-nativity-play-order-parents-cars.html
Mail portrays it in petty action/outrage mode but reader comments seem mostly to think he was right.
What do the panel think?
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I am with the plod, I know of a situation where the police stopped a film until cars were moved. The cars parked on both sides of a narrow road outside the cinema blocked a route from a nearby fire station.
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If the cars were really blocking the entrance, rather than just badly parked, then I absolutely agree.
Selfish lazy people who block others by their parking, or let off mobile phones in meetings or concerts, should be named and publicly humiliated.
There was a case recently at a concert in our local theatre. They had to interupt the performance because one of the audience had parked completely blocking access for equipment needed for the production in the other theatre.
There's a free carpark 100 yards away, but some people think they have a right to park on the pavement right outside access doors.
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Well he probably was a killjoy, kind of goes with the job, but he was still right and he would have been negligent not to deal with it. The people to blame for the interruption were the lazy selfish parkers.
I can believe it too. Some of the parents at the primary school down the road behave moronically. They'll block the road to drop off, or wait for others to move to park, rather than driving 100 yards and walking the child to the gate. The rat runners meanwhile are mounting pavements to get round them, amid walking children and parents and Glenys with the lollipop trying to get people safely across the road.
There have even been fights in the village hall car park opposite which they are allowed to use, usually caused when somebody has been blocked in.
Last edited by: Manatee on Thu 13 Dec 12 at 11:59
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Justifiable action - absolutely! The trouble is that if nothing is done about the problem, then it becomes acceptable behaviour - like faulty lights on cars.
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R2 yesterday had Jeremy Vine discuss this...and ask for any parents affected to phone in. One did.
He didn't come across very well.
Him and his missus had driven to the venue in separate cars, direct from their workplaces. He admitted one of them parked in the doctor's surgery car park..and the other one parked outside (where apparently it was still a problem).
The goon, then moaned he missed his child's part in the nativity.
He also admitted he 'hadn't really thought about the parking'.
Selfish, selfish, selfish.
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>> He also admitted he 'hadn't really thought about the parking'.
And that is the crux of the problem. Folks turn up at the last minute and are already under pressure before they find parking difficult.
The village sports ground is at the end of my road. Sunday junior rugby involves a 'sevens' tournament hosted on a rota basis. Our lot get it about four times in the season. They fill the car park then park on both sides of the road and finally on the grass verges. Even consider corner of my drive though Mrs B's resolute appearance in front door way saw that one off.
We can just squeeze by in a car. Delivery van, breakdown truck or, heaven forbid, ambulance or fire appliance would never get through - and finding the driver around several pitches could take a while.
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Probably some twonk working in the chain mentioned in the Insurance thread...
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Maybe a bit of give and take.Going back years went to see a Rugby League match in Leeds Headingly.Nowhere to park I asked a one of the houseowners if I could use their drive for a couple of hrs.They said no problem.
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YOu have to assume he wouldn't have stepped into the lions den, knowing all the comments and flack he was going to get, if his actions were not important or justified.
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in certain circumstances for certain drivers, yes!
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Agreed, except it should be 12 inches instead of 19.
Why are they using inches ?
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It's half a metre I think. Doesn't seem too difficult. If you park in the middle of the road you deserve a ticket ;-)
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I live opposite a primary school and a large number of the parents think that they can park anywhere in the road especially if they are just "popping" into the school for 10 minutes.
I have even had a situation where a parent parked on our driveway - I assumed it was one of Mrs B's friends, but it wasn't and neither of us knew who it was.
People parked across my driveway is a fairly common situation.
The irony is that the school is very oversubscribed, so has a very small catchment area - all parents except those with disabilities could easily walk.
IMO the guy deserves recognition for his action, because actually causing these people disruption and inconvenience is only what they are doing to others.
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>> Why are they using inches ?
Whaddaya want ON, 12 metres?
It really depends on the place though. In the US West or small Australian towns people park all over the place, but the road in places where they might want to stop can be 75 yards wide and shapeless with it. Same sort of thing but a bit smaller in French or Spanish villages.
Causing a proper obstruction or blocking people in is awful of course. But no one sane and compos needs to do it. You can always snuggle into a hedge a few yards down the road and clamber out of the wrong side of the motor if you have to.
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>> Whaddaya want ON, 12 metres?
I can think of a couple of people who could do with parking bays that wide, :-)
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>> Is this justifiable ?
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>> www.express.co.uk/posts/view/364347/Parking-fines-for-drivers-who-don-t-measure-up
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Francis Kileen, 52, from Pwllheli, said: “This is just another tax on drivers.”
No love, it's a tax on idiots.
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Justifiable Action or Killjoy? - Old Navy
