Parking Tales and hassles

[GiveMeABreak]

I see you have a hospital trip to Bristol planned Marc so be prepared for a shock!!

Free parking Mick, private

[NewcastleFalcon]

Here's the most often committed misdemeanour in car parks. Failing to park within the confines of a marked bay.

Must be quite lucrative, particularly if you can organise a "trap" for folk who find it impossible to park within the confines of the bay, either because of over-large vehicles, laziness, or just plain incompetance at parking.

I got a tip off from a lady I parked next to that in this free retail park carpark, the enforcement officers were getting tough on parked cars overhanging the confines of the marked bay. In particular overhanging the marked public walkways.

Down the length of the walkway nice little earner for the parking enforcement company, I counted 22 cars overhanging that particular walkway, at that particular time, and leaving themselves open for a Parking Charge Notice.

The Sandeman Port Man Surveys the Overhanging cars on the walkway

Regards Neil

[myglaren]

I often park in a free car park in Birtley, the mechanic's garage is at one end of it but also central for any shopping, hairdressers, reptile hotel etc.
But the standard of parking there is abysmal. The markings are all but worn away but even so, they make no attempt to park with any kind of care or consideration, often block entrances and exits.

Taken from my helicopter.
The neater one at the bottom is Komatsu's car park.

[CitroJim]

You learn something new every day Neil... Never knew that those kind of shopping establishments had parking enforcement officers? What's the penalty for not parking properly in a marked bay?

There's only one way to describe that parking in your picture Steve - atrocious! Shows the importance of clearly marked bays!

[NewcastleFalcon]

What's the penalty for not parking properly in a marked bay?

The headline on the information boards is £100 with no doubt a reduction for payment within a certain number of days. The carpark is managed by a "parking firm", who must make a decent return from applying the conditions stipulated rigorously. The businesses benefit from free-parking for customers, and maybe as well as collecting the fines the parking management company recover some service charge from the Shopping centre operator, recovered in the rents for the units.


The public have become used to the "entitlement" of free-parking and for me poor Newcastle city centre hasn't had a visit from my spending power in years now due to parking restrictions and charges and bus/taxi lanes with their cameras. Free-parking can become irritating and expensive though if you overstay your welcome, or hang your front or rear or sides outside the confines of a marked bay

Regards Neil

[mickthemaverick]

As a long time detester of improperly parked cars I almost applaud the action of penalising bad parking, but let's not forget that it must have a certain deterrent effect in order to be of benefit to all the users. It is therefore essential for the parking companies to display and broadcast the rules to ensure every driver understands the potential peril in poor parking. Sadly I fear that is the area where many of them fall short, possibly in pursuit of their own profits!

On a similar subject another issue is that car park planners have often not kept up with the steadily increasing average size of the cars now favoured by many motorists. Add a young busy parent to a modern SUV and poor parking in undersized bays seeme to be the inevitable result!! Of course resolving that by better driver training in reversing as well as enlarging the spaces would only create another issue, we would have more confident drivers in more larger cars trying to park in car parks with less spaces!!

[CitroJim]

What's the penalty for not parking properly in a marked bay?

The headline on the information boards is £100 with no doubt a reduction for payment within a certain number of days.

Gosh

I rarefy venture into such places but now I know I'll make sure I do as I always try to do and park properly... I will be tomorrow as I need to visit Halfrauds...

As a long time detester of improperly parked cars I almost applaud the action of penalising bad parking

So do I Mick, if infuriates me..

You're right about SUVs and parking space sizes... A good few drivers of them seem incapable of competently driving such large vehicles, let alone park them!

[NewcastleFalcon]

A reminder of car size, and parking space size from earlier in the thread, all the more poignant now as Ford have now executed the mondeo!

So what has a Ford Mondeo got to do with Parking Tales and hassles?

Well it is one of an increasing number of vehicles which are too long for a UK standard parking bay. As you know parking outside of the marked lines of a parking bay, is one of the specified contraventions leaving you open to a Parking Charge Notice in virtually all parking terms and conditions.

https://www.theaa.com/breakdown-cover/a ... space-size



Regards Neil

[mickthemaverick]

Hmmmmm!!v

[Dormouse]

As a long time detester of improperly parked cars I almost applaud the action of penalising bad parking, but let's not forget that it must have a certain deterrent effect in order to be of benefit to all the users. It is therefore essential for the parking companies to display and broadcast the rules to ensure every driver understands the potential peril in poor parking. Sadly I fear that is the area where many of them fall short, possibly in pursuit of their own profits!

On a similar subject another issue is that car park planners have often not kept up with the steadily increasing average size of the cars now favoured by many motorists. Add a young busy parent to a modern SUV and poor parking in undersized bays seeme to be the inevitable result!! Of course resolving that by better driver training in reversing as well as enlarging the spaces would only create another issue, we would have more confident drivers in more larger cars trying to park in car parks with less spaces!!

It is not just busy youngsters who struggle with small spaces and big cars. I often have to re adjust my parking after getting out of our 3008 when I find I am not square in the bay. Pint Pot is the same size as a Range Rover or a BMW X5 (only slightly taller) and just fits in a "standard" bay - thank god for the sliding door to get in or out sometimes. Pint Pot is actually easier to see out of in car parks than the 3008, the height of the seating position really aids viewing and I am able to see over the bonnet better. The large, double lensed wing mirrors also aid kerb/line viewing - way better than the tiny "extra" mirrors for cars.

[NewcastleFalcon]

After being warned of the zealousness of the enforcement officers I referred to a few posts back, having parked up in a marked space next to a walkway (side on rather than end on) I thought I had better fold the "wing" mirror in just in case they got a plumbline out and the wing mirror was a couple of millimetres overhanging the walkway.

Maybe not too surprising that the retail park was extremely busy and the luxury of a double or triple empty space which is normally the case wasn't on offer, seeing as it is schools half-term week this week in Northumberland.

Regards Neil

[mickthemaverick]

After being warned of the zealousness of the enforcement officers I referred to a few posts back, having parked up in a marked space next to a walkway (side on rather than end on) I thought I had better fold the "wing" mirror in just in case they got a plumbline out and the wing mirror was a couple of millimetres overhanging the walkway.


Regards Neil

How long before VAR makes an appearance in a car park I wonder?

[Hell Razor5543]

After being warned of the zealousness of the enforcement officers I referred to a few posts back, having parked up in a marked space next to a walkway (side on rather than end on) I thought I had better fold the "wing" mirror in just in case they got a plumbline out and the wing mirror was a couple of millimetres overhanging the walkway.


Regards Neil

How long before VAR makes an appearance in a car park I wonder?

I remember seeing this eleswhere on the Forum;

[Paul-R]

That looks like it comes from a site I posted about a while ago although I don't remember that particular one.

www.xkcd.com

[NewcastleFalcon]

Top of the league for the "streets of London" most-fined streets for parking offences as reported by Fleetnews today is

Mare Street in Hackney 32,247 PCN's issued and an estimated £2,264,290 revenue generated over the 2 years surveyed.

Should link to the list
https://www.fleetnews.co.uk/news/car-in ... 0London%3A

Regards Neil
PS Here's a notable building on Mare Street

Hackney empire 1
Tarquin Binary, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons