London Motorists Face 120 Parking Fines
I'm sorry to keep harping-on about the U.K.'s draconian anti-motorist policies, but I'm gob-smacked by the country's endless parade of car-related taxes, fines and regulations. Pistonheads reports that the island nation's government has raised the cost of a London parking ticket to, well, you saw the headline. Outside the capital city, a parking ticket will cost a hapless parking scofflaw "just" £70. Folks, that's for overstaying a parking meter. The fines are higher for more serious offenses, such as parking on a double yellow line. And if you don't pay straightaway… It gets worse. The Peterborough Evening Telegraph reports that new laws transform parking attendants (a.k.a. meter maids) into "civil enforcement officers." These new "officers" can use handheld numberplate recognition systems to identify persistent fine dodgers and call in the clampers. And worse. They'll be able to post penalties to offenders who try to drive away before a ticket can be issued. And worse. "The law will also give local authorities the ability to fine drivers spotted flouting parking rules on CCTV." In other words, they don't have to actually put a ticket on your car. Looks like Orwell was off by 24 years.
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Sucks for them. Speaking of Orwellian, have you heard what that kooky NSA is up to these days?
Fifteen years ago it was just as expensive. My girlfriend parked her car in London in what looked like a perfectly legal spot. An hour later we returned to a patch of road with two (wet) yellow stripes. Nary a sign in sight, tow the car and paint the stripes. The "it was a legal parking place an hour ago" never does fly with bureaucrats. Two hundred pounds later... And it's still an Austin Metro with a dodgy MOT.
They have gone from being run by tyrants, to being run by different tyrants - themselves. I would bet that if you ran the numbers you would find that the people who are realize they are negatively affected by this nonsense are in the minority. Take out all the folks who have been brainwashed by the greens, the people so rich they don't care, the people who rarely need to use a car very much, the people who don't need to business during the day, etc. I bet you are left with the people who really do most of the hard work and pay most of the taxes. They are being out voted by the rest.
Why is it that everybody is so worried when the Brits get draconian on congestion? This kind of stuff has been in practice for years in Singapore, Tokyo, Paris, to mention a few. More to the point, when I was a kid I bought a banger in California, drove it to NYC, and promptly got towed for parking on the wrong side of the street. (It was one of these Monday: left side, Tuesday: right side streets). Cost me 200 bucks to get the car back -- a Chevy Nova I had bought for $600. This was 1982, I was furious, but did it mean the U.S. was a bad place? You drive a car, you (should) know the rules, you pay the fine when you goof off. Before it was a cliche, the expression was: get over it.