Parking during the hours of darkness

[sailor sam]

Just thought I would see what response to this we get! In my neck of the woods (and I meen that literately!) vehicles are always parked in country roads where the speed limit is in excess of 30mph, where there are no street lights and often facing against the flow of traffic. But I have never heard of any tickets being issued for this! Does this happen in your area and if so, what is your opinion on this?

[adridude]

I'm in a suburban area, but I cant see one of those lazy traffic wardens wandering out into the woods lol

[hightail]

The speed limit in my village is 40 and the police have (very) occasionally had a crackdown on cars parked facing the wrong way round and without parking lights. More effective for public awareness is the odd accident. It does come as a bit of a shock to the owner of a parked car to find they are considered responsible when someone has driven into their vehicle in the middle of the night.

[adridude]

unfortunately the "boy racers" label most drivers as irrisponsible.

[sailor sam]

Thanks guys (so far),

 

Another consideration should be FOG! What chance would you have at night and in poor visability? As hightail points out; isn't this a subject which is only really dealt with after an accident has occured? And how many of these car owners in question actucally know the laws about parking at night do you think?

[ICY]

I have seen someone getting ticketed for facing traffic on an unlit street, was quite a long time ago though, I was actually asked on my driving test many moons ago, what to do when parking at night, of course I answered correctly lol

[buzby]

As for FOG - that point to the driver travelling too fast for the conditions. If he wouldn;t have hit the vehicle on a clear night, then the blames remains with them. As for parking lights or facing the wrong way - I think these offences have gone the way of a Dodo - not heard of any action being taken since the 80's.

[sailor sam]

This is my point Buzby, but it's not just facing the wrong way which is an offence. Its parking where the speed limit exceeds 30mph or in a road where there are no street lights ect. Do these offences only come to 'light' (pardon the pun!) when an accident occurs?

[hightail]

Do these offences only come to 'light' (pardon the pun!) when an accident occurs?

 

Probably. The days of local needs being addressed by the police seem long gone. When the government said burglary was a national problem the police would attend in force to a suspected burglary whilst ignoring anything else. It's a standing joke in my 'sleepy hollow' village that the only way to get the police to take notice nowadays is to report any crime as being committed by a group of drunks pouring out of a nightclub.

[buzby]

Or better still, you think the felon 'might' be carrying a firearm.

 

I am sure there are many 'offences; that are no longer pursued, despite being on the Statute Book. Once they become relegated to the second division they gather cobwebs, until an occasion arises that they might be useful for the extant circumstances prevailing.

[sailor sam]

I'm sure you are right Buzby. I also think that most of these 'offenders' are probably ignorant of the law in relation to parking at night.

[adridude]

The police forget that we arent ALL that bad.. I agree with bubzy, you'd thing that we were all carrying firearms!

Edited December 4, 2009 by adridude
spelling ONCE again