Rubbish Parking

Traffic Wardens are very unpopular.

This is because they seem more interested in revenue income than in keeping the roads clear and safe.  It's probably not their fault - the Councils are desperate for money and see the motorist as an easy source of income.

Where I used to work, people (not me I hasten to add) would often park on the pavement.  The local traffic wardens would come along making a lot of fuss and noise and give people a chance to shift their cars.  Only after 10 to 15 minutes would they start ticketing.  This achieved a removal of illegally parked cars and no ill-feeling.  I suspect nowadays they would be expected to hide around the corner and jump out as soon as a car was left and the owner was out of sight - I sincerely hope that this isn't the case.

Anyway, traffic wardens are unpopular and stories showing them in a good light are few and far between.  Here is one I posted three years ago.

And here is a Mac cartoon from The Daily Mail from about six years ago:

That cartoon combined the Daily Mail's hatred of wheelie bins with the general dislike of traffic wardens.

The Daily Mail hate lots of sensible things so I wouldn't be too bothered about that - but no traffic warden would really ticket a wheelie-bin would they?

No.

But one with a sense of humour might stick a parking-ticket cover on one that was causing an obstruction:

I found the story on the BBC Website claiming in the headline that it had been ticketed but then admitting in the article that it hadn't.

Lots of other sites also got hold of the story including, of course, the odious Daily Mail.  To be fair to them, they did put "parking ticket" in quotes signifying that it wasn't a real ticket.  It then added the taglines

• Parking warden appeared to give wheelie bin parking ticket in Carmarthen
• The Biffa waste bin was left blocking the road on double yellow lines
• Locals slam warden for 'wasting' council resources and time
• He is now being investigated by the local authority for his conduct

The first is true.  The second isn't - it was too small to block the road.  The third is also not true - it was just one sad salesman who spoke to The Mail - remember that councils and their employees are two groups that the Mail hate.  Finally, unfortunately, the fourth is true:

Carmarthenshire Council Traffic and safety manager John McEvoy said: 'The officer was patrolling the area when a member of the public pointed out that the wheelie bin was an obstruction, and asked if he was going to book it. The officer, in a light-hearted moment, wrapped a Penalty Charge Notice envelope around the bin handle.There was no ticket issued, it is not possible to book a wheelie bin or anything that is not motorised.Although this was meant as a humorous incident, we take this kind of thing very seriously and have launched a formal investigation into the conduct of this officer.'

It is very rare that I agree with Daily Mail readers but, if you look at the comments at the bottom of the story, the concensus is that the warden had a sense of humour and John McEvoy needs to get a life and not waste council resources following it up.

I also liked the comments from the bin company:

A spokesman for waste collection company Biffa said 'It's a relief to learn that the bin in question isn't in trouble with the council. The ticket issued was simply a throw-away gesture and proved to be a load of rubbish. We are wheelie careful and do our best to make sure that our bins are in the correct locations at all times.'

Now, if you still want a story of traffic wardens having a hard time, this is one from 2012.