Sunday, March 8, 2009

Parking

     Hey kids, I'm back.  Tonight's thing that's bugging me is parking.  Not so much parking as parking tickets.  Not the tickets I get.  The tickets other people are always whining about.  The other day I saw a quote in the paper by an upset parker along the lines of, "I got a ticket for parking 65 minutes in a one hour zone".
     Last time I checked an hour had 60 minutes.  Now sure it might seem like five minutes over isn't much, but I want you to think about this for a minute.  
     First off, it's a pretty clear and fair system.  You get to park for 60 minutes.  If you park more than 60 then you might get a ticket.  If you want to park more than 60, then fine, but you risk getting the ticket.  You knew the rules, so if you break them then whose fault is that?
     Secondly, the person writing the ticket has no way of knowing how long you've been parked there.  They don't sit and wait by your car for the full 60.  If it's a meter, then if the meter is expired it is expired.  It doesn't say how long it has been expired.  If it's not a meter then the parking person chalks your wheels the first time they come by and then come buy an hour later and if you're still there then you're over the 60 that you were entitled to.  Simple.
     Now some might think that there should be no parking rules or meters.  That's a different argument.  I'm just saying if you know the rules and you break them then you have to be prepared to pay the consequences.

Story time....

     I can't think of a parking related story at this moment, so I'll go off on a tangent.  I'll tell the story of the time I almost parked my car in the side of a building.
     I had just bought my first car.  It was one of those boxy 1976 Honda Civics.  Cherry red.  I was not yet totally familiar with the car (keep that in mind).  I was heading down the hill on Cadboro Bay Rd. into Cadboro Bay village.  It's a fairly steep hill with a stop sign at the bottom.  The left turn takes you along the wall of the corner grocery store.
     As I approached the stop sign there was a car stopped in front of me.  I had dropped something and was reaching down to pick it up.  I looked up in time to see I had to stop fairly quickly and reached for the break.  My muscle memory was not yet fully in place for the new car and my foot found the clutch.  I appeared doomed to slam into the car in front of me.  Instead I swerved left, through the stop sign, around the corner, perilously close to the wall of the corner store and down the road.  That was close one.

4 comments:

  1. I know the rules, but I will always cuss the meter man/maid. If i am well over my time, well, I expect the ticket... but almost invariably, they come within the first 5 minutes. Now if one could purchase a 70 minute option on a 60 minute meter, wouldn't life be grand! About your driving story, is it possible you were pulling up your tube socks? Tube socks are definitely for the sartorially challenged and flag football.

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  2. I don't imagine you're going to get a lot of support on this one, you Nazi.

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  3. As one who doesn't own a car (or even drive, for that matter) I say let Rita the meter maid do her job and stick it to all you egg-sucking lawbreakers!

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  4. I'm not motivated to comment on the parking issue, but you have some good points, Jack. As for the tube sock, it probably will make its way back. What I wonder about is if you know tube socks are out why are you still wearing those shorty shorts, Jack? Jolly good show old boy, got to go and have some bubble and squeak for dinner! xelA.

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