Edward Zammit, Lija
Wardens - educate or penalise?
I fully agree with Alexander Kuiloer (The Sunday Times, July 20) that most of the wardens have taken it upon themselves to penalise the majority of 'offenders' by dishing out tickets for even the slightest innocuous infringement. I will be contacting Mr Kuiloer on the e-mail address indicated.
To show how 'educate first' is tackled by the wardens, allow me to point out a personal experience:
I stopped my car across the road near Hamrun Post Office to buy a few stamps. There is a 'No Stopping' sign, but at that moment there was neither traffic nor queues inside. I left my wife (also a driver) on the passenger seat and spent less than five minutes inside. As I was about to come out, a warden had parked her motorcycle in front of my car and started to write out a ticket. My wife intervened and informed her that I had just gone in the post office and that she would move the car herself.
The warden, who had parked her motorcycle in the same 'No Stopping' area continued to write the ticket and when my wife told her their first priority was to teach the public, she arrogantly replied: "This is how you learn". The time indicated on the Malta Post receipt and that of the warden's ticket both showed 8.30 a.m. - that's how long it took.
When I contested the ticket and pointed out these details and the discrimination between the warden and me, as we both left our vehicle in a 'No Stopping' area, I was made to pay the fine just the same.
If this was not a clear abuse of power, I do not know what is.
The primary aim to educate the public has been turned by most wardens into a money-making machine where tickets are often issued, even late, for parking infringements even where there is no obstruction to traffic flow.
And what about Buġibba? A lot of parking spaces have been taken up by restaurants and shops putting up boards, stools, crates of drinks etc on the road in front of their shops, thereby reducing spaces. How many tickets have been dished out to these shops for obstructing the road?
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V Farrugia
Aug 3rd 2008, 23:12
Last week, Mr Zammit, a shopper blocked my car (double parked, thanks very much) " sekonda biss ta!" to buy the newspaper from the stationer opposite my house. His "sekonda biss" lasted exactly 8 minutes, 8 minutes of having me, who was legally parked in front of my house, and waiting to get out to get to work. I honked my horn twice, twice he came out of the stationer, " Gej ta! Hi!" and continued chatting about like no tomorrow.
I wish I had the number for a towing service as I would have towed his car away.
In your case Mr Zammit, you could have easily asked your wife to go and get the stamps herself, while you circled the block, or found a legal parking space. A "No Stopping" sign means just that, No Stopping, much less parking!
André Xuereb
Aug 3rd 2008, 19:00
The cheek of some people. Rules are rules, Mr Zammit. If you couldn't find a place to park you could, for example, have asked your passenger to go perform the errand and stayed circling the block.
It is because of people like you that Malta is in the state it is. Pathetic, truly pathetic.
C. Camilleri
Aug 3rd 2008, 18:04
When shall we stop educating and start taking action. We have been trying to educate for a long time and no progress is in sight.. I have just returned from abroad and I can tell you that the traffic regulations there are applied rigidly and no silly excuses are accepted. In your case I am sorry but you asked for it. I am fed up seeing people like you blocking main streets on the excuse of a few seconds to buy something. examples St. Joseph High street Hamrun, Zabbar Rd Paola, Constitution street Mosta and others. In my opinion more wardens should be on duty on these streets.
joseph mizzi
Aug 3rd 2008, 13:17
Mr Zammit
If you expect to garner sympathy by writing a letter to the editor after parking your car in a no-stop zone, I'm sorry but you won't be getting any from readers of this paper. Wardens are reknown for booking petty offenders, but I must say you gambled on not being caught, and lost, and so you should accept this and fork out the money for the fine. And you had the guts to contest the fine in the local council tribunal! I would have enjoyed sitting in the hall hearing you make a "guilty, but, you see ..." plea! As to the warden parking in the same no-stop zone as you, what do you recommend she should have done? Find a decent parking space round the corner, and walk it to your car? The reason why there are no-stop zones on thoroughfares such as the Hamrun main road is to allow for the free-flow of traffic, which flow you had already blocked anyway!
Zap Branagan
Aug 3rd 2008, 13:10
Quote:
I stopped my car across the road near Hamrun Post Office to buy a few stamps. There is a 'No Stopping' sign, but at that moment there was neither traffic nor queues inside.
So which part of the 'No Stopping' sign do you need education about?
And will you do it again or have you finally learned your lesson? Sounds to me like you're just annoyed cos they gave you a fine for a law you knowingly broke.
Ah, the sound of the world's smallest violin playing for you... can you hear it?
agrech
Aug 3rd 2008, 12:00
In some countries there are "No Parking" and "No Stopping" signs. I don't recall seeing any "No Stopping" signs in Malta. In such countries, it's legal to stop for a very short period in a "No Parking" zone as long as one keeps the flashers on but no one is allowed to stop even shortly in a "No Stopping" zone.
The warden in the case above could have been prudent and asked the wife to please move the car.
Adrian Catania
Aug 3rd 2008, 11:48
Mr. Zammit , the way the warden treated your wife's is totally senseless and shows that wardens are merely pawns serving the tax exercise. You were parked in Hamrun, but what would you have said had your car been parked at the bottom of a dead-end stretch in Mosta, where no traffic passes except for that of the few local residents, where no police officer or warden ever entered, and where there are no signs indicating a no parking zone? Somehow, a police officer gave me a ticket saying that I was parked on a corner. Now, as I said before, there are no signs indicating a no parking zone, and no yellow lines or whatever. The area I was parked in gives trouble to no one, and there are cars parked there most of the day . So a tax collecting exercise, nothing else. Perhaps our Minister of Finance is already contemplating using these funds when the registration tax on cars is removed
Phil Pryce
Aug 3rd 2008, 11:25
Hmmm.... a 'No Stopping' sign.... I wonder what that means? Education is a wonderful thing