What is the point of the British Transport Police!

missingchickenland

Fail to stop taxis parking on Stroud green rd by the car wash. I walk past the busses can't pull out. Today I told them about a fraudulent disabled badge holder. They couldn't care less.

If they don't police what do they do?

missingchickenland

They do a lot of eating at molens

marko

The BTP police the railway and Underground (TfL and train operating companies specifically contribute to their running costs to do so).

That stretch of SGR is the Met Police's patch, and some traffic offenses are enforced civilly by the London Borough Of Islington and London Borough of Haringey. The latter seems to do next to none of it - hence the taxis illegally parked on the yellow box with impunity.

You might do well to contact local councillors in the Rotten Borough.

krappyrubsnif

I've always assumed the traffic wardens and the taxi drivers have a dodgy financial arrangement. What else could explain their ability to park there all day while the rest of us risk a fine?

grenners

Because traffic wardens are cowards and wouldn't want any conflict with the guys in the taxi booth. One of those situations where when the warden comes the guys could simply move their cars.

Ali

Absolute speculation

grenners

Haha. Yes. Either cowards, just lazy or corrupt.

miss annie

I was a witness to a traffic warden being viciously assaulted on my road four years ago. He was perfectly reasonably ticketing an illegally parked car and the bloke started shouting then punching him. I was a witness at the trial where the person who attacked him went to prison.

I'd be wary about writing traffic wardens off as cowards until you've spent a day dealing with aggressive or entitled motorists who think they have a right to park wherever they like - even parking in a no parking spot so they can get a coffee.

HolbornFox

There's a couple of traffic wardens who sit over Wray Crescent in the summer, they told me that the abuse is unreal, especially the lady who is tiny

grenners

I was in a parking bay in Camden recently and I was concentrating hard at my phone whilst trying to buy a ticket and navigate the options. Sat in driving seat looking down at phone screen. To my horror a parking warden was trying to put a ticket on my car. With supernatural powers she had appeared from nowhere. I was very polite with her but nevertheless she was very rude with me.

grenners

I'm with Eric Pickles on this. Just look at him he obviously likes to drive. Anyway he tried to introduce rules where the driver can stop for up to say 5 mins without getting a ticket. I got done in Barrow in Furness a year or so ago of all places (need car for work) and was in the council run car park (near the high street) which was empty as why would you pay extra to go to Barrow. So they had old machines no cards or notes accepted and guess what I had no change. I thought I'd run around the corner and get to a shop for change and wham bam ticket £35. Guy was sitting in a car watching me employed by outsourced parking company seeking a profit. Give people a break they are just systematically trying to rob people it's not just some benevolent service designed to keep things in order it's a money making scam. Had to look at some vacant retail units. Why they vacant? The business rates were higher than the rent and the parking squad ready to pounce.

There are lots of people driving around London every day playing the parking game as part of their job and have to pay the tickets out of their wages. Not condoning violence. But no wonder some people lose the plot.

Ali

I thought this was a very interesting article about parking

https://www.magzter.com/articles_new_reader/detail/830/217411/58e787c2a072b

grenners

Can't seem to read the full article.

miss annie

What drivers seem to lose sight of is that there are rules, they may be pecieved as unfair but they are rules none the less. Drivers seem to believe that rules don't apply to them. They do. If you choose to disregard them you will have to pay. Don't blame the traffic wardens, they are paid to do a job and shouldn't be persecuted for this.

Someone on another thread on this forum said that they had purposely parked in a no parking spot so they could get a coffee then chased the warden who ticketed them down the road and harassed them until they let them off the ticket. That is just showing an attitude of absolute arrogance and disregard for everyone else - same as cyclists who cross red lights. If you have a problem with parking restrictions abide by the rules but vote for a change of council, don't harass and attack traffic wardens for it.

grenners

Someone? You mean me? Well I think there are rules and there are rules. Certainly never attacked anyone for it, simply humerously debated the issue with a traffic warden who didn't seem to try very hard to stand his ground. Anyway, 5 mins in a loading bay causes no one any harm. I'm also a cyclist. There are times when skipping red lights in my opinion is ok. Obviously times when it's damn right stupid. Pick you own rules but yes don't harm anyone else when you do it.

miss annie

From your point of view it's 'stupid rule, doesn't apply to me, I'll chase the warden and make him feel like he is being unreasonable by doing his job until he/she backs down.'

From his/hers it may be 'oh god, not another one who thinks they can pick and choose which rules they want to follow. Now he's chasing me and passive aggressively joking but maybe he's going to turn nasty as he's followed me down the street, maybe it's just not worth risking being attacked. I'll be careful and give in this time. But what if my supervisor spots it?'

All a matter of perspective isn't it?

grenners

If a traffic warden is worried about that they should get another job. Everyone in whatever situation who gets a ticket and sees the traffic warden doing it is going to challenge the warden to see if he can stop it. That's common sense and every traffic warden knows that will happen when he/she takes the job. Rule does apply to me but in my mind I'm not doing any harm so it's worth a gamble to park there, Odds were in my favour so I thought.

Ali

Grenners try this link.
http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21720269-dont-let-people-park-free-how-not-create-traffic-jams-pollution-and-urban-sprawl

Interesting that on average cars only actually move 5 per cent of the time

grenners

Well if I spent all my time in London and my family lived here also I would happily ditch my car. Because I have a car I also use it for trips in Inner London. Unfortunately trains are far too expensive and unreliable (always doing maintaince on public holidays etc) and not easy with young children and they only get you to a town what if you are heading to the middle of nowhere like I do. Could hire a zip car but need more of them as if you are partial to a spot of spontaneity like me and don't book things weeks in advance then you are buggered. Let's do some proper cycle lanes and have about 20 times the number of car shares that we currently do.

Ali

What percentage of time do you reckon you actually use the car. We are a lot less than the 5 per cent?

grenners

Similar. Although at easter I was in Yorkshire and Lancashire. Yesterday in Tower Hamlets and saturday in Newham. I use the car about twice a month for work. And because it sits outside my house I might go to a supermarket or arena shopping park or crouch end etc. Expensive luxury. We have a 10 month old boy so wife is not working so she uses it quite a lot. I'm sure I would save money by hiring a car and using minicabs uber etc a lot more but it's an estate car and I can put a pram in it and all sorts of baby stuff. Can go on holiday in it etc.

trainspotter

No one's saying you can't enjoy your expensive luxury Grenners, but part of that is paying for parking. Of course it's pitched at rates to discourage non-essential car use. That's what we say we want. I am a car-owner too but support that - I'd support a much larger congestion zone too actually and a diesel ban - I need an incentive to use the car less, and if others would do the same would happily abide by it.

miss annie

What an utterly ridiculous, ignorant argument @grenners. Along the same lines as if women don't want to be raped they shouldn't wear short skirts. Traffic wardens aren't 'asking for it' by just going about their jobs. It's utterly disgusting that people think it's a matter of routine to intimidate or attack them I'm astonished by this approach and that basic respect for another human being earning a living is a joke to you. Staggering.

grenners

@miss annie I think your going a bit over the top here, a bit unrealistic. Nobody is saying it's OK to intimidate and attack. All I'm saying is that it's inevitable that there will be a bit of frosty contact with a traffic warden. They are the face of the system. Very often they are ticketing someone who is actually trying to buy a ticket. There are lots of places with residents parking only and it's quite difficult to do a delivery or stop to pick something up. So all day long they will have people shouting at them to stop putting a ticket on etc.

trainspotter

I came across a warden putting a ticket on when I'd been held up in the hospital with a poorly toddler and my four year old ran off in the wrong direction, making us even later. He was very nice to me and though he couldn't rescind the ticket after he'd processed it he said that if he'd seen me struggling with the kids one minute earlier he wouldn't have given me a ticket. I'm not sure how being aggressive would have helped really - we'd just both have felt shittier.

grenners

No need to be aggressive but if the machines are the same as what Haringey use then they can input a note to the system which gets fed back to the parking department. So then you challenge the ticket and it's backed up by the note. This is what happened to me and was fully explained by the warden when he was doing it. He didn't need to be so helpful some are OK some just don't want to assist.

trainspotter

Ah, well I was bang to rights really but felt better about it because he was sympathetic. I challenged another one where I'd allegedly parked in a suspended bay but the sign was on the other side of the street. They refunded it no problem - and another where I had difficulty with the app (just my ineptitude really but there was evidence I'd tried and they took pity) so I'm not sure they're all highwaymen.

grenners

I was in the car on the phone payment system when I realised I was being ticketed. They don't actually make any noise and appear instantly using special supernatural powers. They are very sly. She must have known I was in there.

conformable_kate

I got a ticket near archway while taking my very wobbly and elderly father to his front door, on an estate where you can't get closer than a double yellow line 100 yards away. The traffic warden had just issued the ticket as I came racing back, but was actually very sympathetic and also said he'd leave a note on the system - and I also appealed successfully. They don't have a lot of room for manoeuvre, and I think they have targets, and problems when they don't meet them, which does nothing to ease tensions. But at least some of them will try and help if they think there's a genuine reason - and they have to put up with plenty of aggression.

Grenners on the other hand must be a person of outstanding charm, I've never heard of anyone successfully pleading coffee before!

joust

They're annoying.
But as said further up the thread, if you break the rules it doesn't leave you with much space to complain.

Pretty much every story I hear (even my own stories) is pretty much - "I parked in a place I wasn't meant to park for a few minutes and got a ticket."

grenners

They look better against their colleagues if they issue more tickets. I did park in the wrong place it was a loading bay. I didn't really understand the definition of loading so I came up with some sort of argument that coffee fell in my definition. Traffic warden embarrassed himself a bit as he couldn't fully articulate definition of loading. We both knew coffee can't be in that definition. I think I may have added a bit of colour to his day. So really I am a very good member of society as I was contributing to the improved professional competence of the traffic warden and helping him to enjoy his day. I still do not want to know what is the definition of loading as I would still have got a ticket unless I had someone else with me to fend him off whilst I go off to get the goods.