N
Nuxx Bar
Guest
These are of course all perfectly fair and there are no anti-motorist
measures anywhere in the UK. (And there are no lying motorist-hating
trolls on urc either....)
http://timesbusiness.typepad.com/money_weblog/2008/03/the-ten-crazies.html
Think that you've been hard done to by the parking authorities? Well,
wait
until you have read these extraordinary tales.
1. Trucking ridiculous
It was a normal day for truck driver Michael Collins, who was on his
way to
collect a skip in London's Belsize Park. But then, without warning,
his
truck lurched as the road beneath him collapsed. Unbeknown to Michael,
a
burst water main had caused the road to give way, creating a deep hole
where
the front wheels of his 17-tonne truck became stuck.
While he was waiting for his lorry to be rescued, a passing parking
attendant appeared. To the astonishment of nearby residents and
despite
Michael's protests, she stood on tiptoe and whacked a parking ticket
on the
trucks windscreen, uttering the immortal words, "You can appeal".
2. Bad news comes in trees
If a tree fell on your car and you escaped death by mere inches, you
might
think that you would get some sympathy from your local council. Sadly,
no
such compassion was forthcoming when one family suffered just such a
fate
under the parking Taliban of Wychavon District Council
Nicky Clegg from Stoulton, near Pershore, was driving along the
Bromwich
Road with her 82-year-old mother and her 11-year-old son when without
warning a tree crashed on her car. Miraculously they escaped death but
the
car ended up with a crushed bonnet, smashed windscreen and broken wing
mirrors.
Police dragged the wrecked car to the side of the road and told Nicky
that
it was fine to leave it there and she could pick it up the following
day.
But when Nicky came back the next day, she was astonished to find a
parking
ticket on the window.
3. Feeling run down?
Think that being badly injured is an excuse to park illegally? Think
again.
When Nadhim Zahawi of South London was thrown from his scooter and
left
lying in the road with a broken leg, a heartless warden from Lambeth
Council
slapped a £100 ticket on his bike.
4. Horse play
You leave your horse in the street and what do you expect to find when
you
get back? A small pile of manure perhaps, but not a parking ticket.
Amazingly, however, this is exactly what happened to Robert McFarland,
a
retired blacksmith from Yorkshire when he left his trusty steed,
Charlie
Boy, for a few brief moments. On the ticket, the over-zealous warden
had
written the vehicle description as "brown horse".
5. Daylight robbery
It started off just like any other day for Fred Holt when he went to
his
local bank. But the ordinary day turned extraordinary when two masked
men
burst into the bank brandishing an axe and a machete. In the
terrifying
raid, the robbers held a young cashier hostage with an axe to her
throat.
Customers were forced to lie on the floor as staff were made to hand
over
cash.
If being a victim of this horrifying event wasn't bad enough, 77 year
old Mr
Holt had parked his car nearby, and by the time he had given a
statement to
police officers, his car had been there for 20 minutes longer than
allowed.
Mr. Holt was not worried because the police officers who interviewed
him
said that traffic wardens had been told about the raid and asked not
to
issue tickets. But when Mr Holt got back to his car he was astounded
to find
a £30 parking ticket pinned to his windscreen - the reason:
overstaying his
allowed time in the street.
6. Bloody ridiculous
"Do Something Amazing Today" runs the slogan of the National Blood
Service.
In Sutton, a traffic warden did just that, though not along the lines
of
"Save a life. Give Blood" that the advert intended.
For four years, a mobile National Blood Service truck has visited
Sutton,
parking at the same spot outside a group of offices, so volunteers can
give
blood. But seeing the good citizens of the town turn up and exchange a
pint
of the red stuff in return for a cup of tea and a biscuit was too much
of a
temptation for one parking attendant. Whilst those inside were giving
blood,
the parking attendant gave in his own unique way - in the form of a
parking
ticket.
Sutton council eventually waived the fine, saying the parking
attendant had
made a simple error of judgment. Or to put it more aptly, a rush of
blood to
the head.
7. Bus(ted)
Picture the situation. You're a bus driver. You're driving your bus.
You see
a queue of people waiting for you at a bus stop. You pull over to pick
them
up. So far, so good. But wait, not everyone wants to buy a ticket.
This chap
in the queue wants to give you one instead.
This was the extraordinary scene that greeted Manchester bus driver
Chris O'
Mahony, when he stopped his number 77 bus to let people on. He and his
passengers looked on in absolute disbelief as the Manchester City
Council
parking attendant joined the queue to prepare the parking ticket,
deposited
the £40 notice and then walked away. The bus driver's crime? Parking
in a
restricted area.
The attendant said he'd been told to issue tickets to buses that park.
Manchester City Council bosses cancelled the ticket and ordered the
warden
to be retrained. Hopefully, as something other than a warden.
8. Heart attack
Whilst David Holmes was driving along he felt chest pains. So he
immediately
drove himself to hospital. When he arrived he was forced to park on
the road
and was treated for a heart attack. A kind nurse left a note on the
windscreen saying it was an emergency and that David's daughter would
pick
the car up later. Despite the note, a pitiless parking attendant
slapped a
parking ticket on David's car.
Despite an appeal to the local council, the £40 fine was not
cancelled.
9. Welcome to Warwickshire
Warwick is a beautiful part of England but it had no appeal for one
man who
received a parking ticket from the local Council.
Krister Nylander was dismayed to receive a parking ticket in the post
for
parking in Warwick. But he knew the parking ticket was wrong because
he
lives in Sweden and had not visited England since he was 16. The
offending
vehicle was his 20-ton snowmobile which had barely ever left his barn,
let
alone Sweden.
How did it get the ticket? We've absolutely no Ikea.
10. Driving you crazy
Driving instructors are used to the trials and tribulations of
teaching
people to drive. Three point turns, as we all know, can be very tricky
to
learn. So spare a thought for the driving instructor who got a CCTV
parking
ticket when his pupil stalled whilst attempting a three-point turn and
could
not restart the car. The offence? Parking more than 50 centimetres
from the
kerb.
Think that you can beat any of these tales of woe? Post your stories
of
parking misery using the form below
List compiled with the help of Barrie Segal, founder of AppealNow.com
and
author of the book, The Parking Ticket Awards: Crazy Councils, Meter
Madness
and Traffic Warden Hell
To buy a copy of Barrie's Book, visit appealnow.com/book.html
measures anywhere in the UK. (And there are no lying motorist-hating
trolls on urc either....)
http://timesbusiness.typepad.com/money_weblog/2008/03/the-ten-crazies.html
Think that you've been hard done to by the parking authorities? Well,
wait
until you have read these extraordinary tales.
1. Trucking ridiculous
It was a normal day for truck driver Michael Collins, who was on his
way to
collect a skip in London's Belsize Park. But then, without warning,
his
truck lurched as the road beneath him collapsed. Unbeknown to Michael,
a
burst water main had caused the road to give way, creating a deep hole
where
the front wheels of his 17-tonne truck became stuck.
While he was waiting for his lorry to be rescued, a passing parking
attendant appeared. To the astonishment of nearby residents and
despite
Michael's protests, she stood on tiptoe and whacked a parking ticket
on the
trucks windscreen, uttering the immortal words, "You can appeal".
2. Bad news comes in trees
If a tree fell on your car and you escaped death by mere inches, you
might
think that you would get some sympathy from your local council. Sadly,
no
such compassion was forthcoming when one family suffered just such a
fate
under the parking Taliban of Wychavon District Council
Nicky Clegg from Stoulton, near Pershore, was driving along the
Bromwich
Road with her 82-year-old mother and her 11-year-old son when without
warning a tree crashed on her car. Miraculously they escaped death but
the
car ended up with a crushed bonnet, smashed windscreen and broken wing
mirrors.
Police dragged the wrecked car to the side of the road and told Nicky
that
it was fine to leave it there and she could pick it up the following
day.
But when Nicky came back the next day, she was astonished to find a
parking
ticket on the window.
3. Feeling run down?
Think that being badly injured is an excuse to park illegally? Think
again.
When Nadhim Zahawi of South London was thrown from his scooter and
left
lying in the road with a broken leg, a heartless warden from Lambeth
Council
slapped a £100 ticket on his bike.
4. Horse play
You leave your horse in the street and what do you expect to find when
you
get back? A small pile of manure perhaps, but not a parking ticket.
Amazingly, however, this is exactly what happened to Robert McFarland,
a
retired blacksmith from Yorkshire when he left his trusty steed,
Charlie
Boy, for a few brief moments. On the ticket, the over-zealous warden
had
written the vehicle description as "brown horse".
5. Daylight robbery
It started off just like any other day for Fred Holt when he went to
his
local bank. But the ordinary day turned extraordinary when two masked
men
burst into the bank brandishing an axe and a machete. In the
terrifying
raid, the robbers held a young cashier hostage with an axe to her
throat.
Customers were forced to lie on the floor as staff were made to hand
over
cash.
If being a victim of this horrifying event wasn't bad enough, 77 year
old Mr
Holt had parked his car nearby, and by the time he had given a
statement to
police officers, his car had been there for 20 minutes longer than
allowed.
Mr. Holt was not worried because the police officers who interviewed
him
said that traffic wardens had been told about the raid and asked not
to
issue tickets. But when Mr Holt got back to his car he was astounded
to find
a £30 parking ticket pinned to his windscreen - the reason:
overstaying his
allowed time in the street.
6. Bloody ridiculous
"Do Something Amazing Today" runs the slogan of the National Blood
Service.
In Sutton, a traffic warden did just that, though not along the lines
of
"Save a life. Give Blood" that the advert intended.
For four years, a mobile National Blood Service truck has visited
Sutton,
parking at the same spot outside a group of offices, so volunteers can
give
blood. But seeing the good citizens of the town turn up and exchange a
pint
of the red stuff in return for a cup of tea and a biscuit was too much
of a
temptation for one parking attendant. Whilst those inside were giving
blood,
the parking attendant gave in his own unique way - in the form of a
parking
ticket.
Sutton council eventually waived the fine, saying the parking
attendant had
made a simple error of judgment. Or to put it more aptly, a rush of
blood to
the head.
7. Bus(ted)
Picture the situation. You're a bus driver. You're driving your bus.
You see
a queue of people waiting for you at a bus stop. You pull over to pick
them
up. So far, so good. But wait, not everyone wants to buy a ticket.
This chap
in the queue wants to give you one instead.
This was the extraordinary scene that greeted Manchester bus driver
Chris O'
Mahony, when he stopped his number 77 bus to let people on. He and his
passengers looked on in absolute disbelief as the Manchester City
Council
parking attendant joined the queue to prepare the parking ticket,
deposited
the £40 notice and then walked away. The bus driver's crime? Parking
in a
restricted area.
The attendant said he'd been told to issue tickets to buses that park.
Manchester City Council bosses cancelled the ticket and ordered the
warden
to be retrained. Hopefully, as something other than a warden.
8. Heart attack
Whilst David Holmes was driving along he felt chest pains. So he
immediately
drove himself to hospital. When he arrived he was forced to park on
the road
and was treated for a heart attack. A kind nurse left a note on the
windscreen saying it was an emergency and that David's daughter would
pick
the car up later. Despite the note, a pitiless parking attendant
slapped a
parking ticket on David's car.
Despite an appeal to the local council, the £40 fine was not
cancelled.
9. Welcome to Warwickshire
Warwick is a beautiful part of England but it had no appeal for one
man who
received a parking ticket from the local Council.
Krister Nylander was dismayed to receive a parking ticket in the post
for
parking in Warwick. But he knew the parking ticket was wrong because
he
lives in Sweden and had not visited England since he was 16. The
offending
vehicle was his 20-ton snowmobile which had barely ever left his barn,
let
alone Sweden.
How did it get the ticket? We've absolutely no Ikea.
10. Driving you crazy
Driving instructors are used to the trials and tribulations of
teaching
people to drive. Three point turns, as we all know, can be very tricky
to
learn. So spare a thought for the driving instructor who got a CCTV
parking
ticket when his pupil stalled whilst attempting a three-point turn and
could
not restart the car. The offence? Parking more than 50 centimetres
from the
kerb.
Think that you can beat any of these tales of woe? Post your stories
of
parking misery using the form below
List compiled with the help of Barrie Segal, founder of AppealNow.com
and
author of the book, The Parking Ticket Awards: Crazy Councils, Meter
Madness
and Traffic Warden Hell
To buy a copy of Barrie's Book, visit appealnow.com/book.html
