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Proof that the Vulture drivers abuse their legal rights to park like morons

By Alan W Collins on Friday 13th August 2010 20:27 / 2 comments

The Medway Messenger today carries proof that the drivers of the much-loathed CCTV (not-so-) Smart Car abuse their right to park like morons on double-yellow lines.

News broke today that a driver of the Vulture, who (to protect the moron’s identity) has not been named, was sacked after parking illegally in Rochester back in February.

Amateur photographer Alan Bourne photographed the car parked at the junction of Castle Hill and the Esplanade on 18 February. Following an investigation, the driver was sacked, with Medway Council saying:

Our Smart car is allowed to park on double yellow lines when carrying out its duty to photograph illegally parked drivers as long as there is no alternative place to do so and that it is safe.

This driver has not complied with this and has been dismissed from their post with immediate effect.

We would like to thank the member of the public that brought this to our attention.

The money maker (sorry, camera operator), had also faced the prospect of being sacked, but had already seen the light before the council had been notified of their stupidity.

Some of the opposition commentators are calling the Vulture a “tax” on Medway motorists, and perhaps the fact that it made Medway Council ?455,000 last year provides some evidence of this.

However, as much as I despise the Vulture (and it’s newer twin brother), in 99% of cases the only people who have to pay fines are those who have parked illegally in the first place. There is no excuse for dangerous parking – especially when there are large numbers of children around.

That point stands, as well, with the Vulture and its drivers. Noble though their cause may be, there is no excuse for the moron Vulture drivers to park anywhere but safely, otherwise they are adding to the problem, not helping to solve it!

Medway Council can quote statistics and passages from statute all it likes, but the fact remains. As long as this abomination and its drivers are allowed to flout the same rules it is supposed to enforce, it will be met with no respect from the taxpayers who fund it.

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2 Comments

Trevor says:

Saturday 14th August 2010 at 00:03

So let me ask you this. If a car is parked illegally and the driver deserves to be fined, how is a record of that misdemeanour supposed to be captured if the CCTV car can’t, in fact, stop illegally itself to capture it? Is it supposed to drive on past, letting the offender off scott-free? Or is it a case of maybe, just maybe, sometimes two wrongs do make a right?
Alan W Collins says:

Thursday 26th August 2010 at 23:27

Thank you for your comment, Trevor. Firstly, apologies for the delay in approving it, and secondly, apologies for the delay in responding.

I appreciate that the issue of the Smart Car is a controversial one, with strong opinions on either side. Regular readers of this blog will know exactly where I stand, and why.

I fully support the principle behind the Smart Car, and accept that it must sometimes stop “illegally” (though, as it has a legal status exempting it from such traffic laws, such a term is merely a “red herring”) in order to catch offenders.

My stance against the Smart Car is that its drivers seem to have taken their exemption to indicate a carte blanche exemption from traffic laws and are abusing their right to stop “illegally”, yet safely, when necessary. The above article served to highlight that fact.

I do not believe that the Smart Car should be allowed to stop when it is dangerous to do so, nor when there are no other cars parked nearby. However, the local media has documented dozens of cases where it has done exactly that, and no doubt has at least twice as many submissions from residents that it has chosen not to print, for whatever reason.

My point is that dangerous parking is exactly that – dangerous! And it is inexcusable. By replacing old fashioned traffic wardens with a vehicle that is “supra legis”, the council is merely raking in money whilst allowing its own staff to exacerbate the problem.

In certain cases, two wrongs do make a right, and if the Smart Car can safely stop and film an illegally-parked vehicle then it must be allowed to do so. However, proof has been ever flowing that now even the council accepts that such a right is being abused by its staff.

Dangerous parking is a common problem for all local authorities. What is needed is a measured response, otherwise people will merely grow to resent those tasked with making our roads that little bit safer.