Taxi Driver Online

Enforcers are seen to be safe wearing bright yellow vests

Edinburgh's parking Enforcers have been kitted out with fluorescent yellow vests to save them from being run down by motorists. The parking attendants were issued with the vests less than a month after taxi drivers demanded they wear brighter uniforms.

Cabbies said a number of attendants had almost been run over after stepping out into the street to photograph offending cars. The attendants normally wear black jackets with reflective strips to help make them visible to drivers. But in the hot weather many wear just a white shirt or a pale grey jumper.

The Enforcers' employers, Central Parking Systems, insisted that the new vests had been in the planning stages for months and were not a response to the cabbies' complaints. The company said trials had to be carried out before the fluorescent outfits were introduced on to the streets of the Capital.

Taxi drivers today welcomed the move but questioned the timing of their deployment so soon after they made their fears public. They claim the problem of near misses had grown dramatically recently as Enforcers strip to their shirt sleeves in the hot weather.

Keith Bell, chairman of taxi drivers group CABforce, said today: "This move is bound to make the parking attendants more safe. "I first brought the matter to the attention of CPS two years ago. I've no idea why it's taken them so long to put this into action. It's the company's responsibility to ensure their employees are safe by issuing appropriate clothing when they are expected to walk out into the road as part of their duties.

"I spoke to one attendant in Lothian Road who was wearing his vest. He said drivers were even slowing down after spotting him because they look like police officers doing speed checks, so it might have the knock-on effect of encouraging safer driving."

He added: "It seems a bit suspicious that CPS say they have been planning this for a long time. It comes only weeks after the Evening News story. But it's still to be welcomed."

Cabbies say they have been forced to swerve several times to avoid attendants who stepped into the road to take down a registration number or photograph a vehicle. Jim Muldoon, chairman of the Scottish Taxi Federation, added: "This can only make the attendants more visible, which increases their safety and the safety of the driving public."

A CPS spokeswoman said: "While the previous uniform included European standard safety features such as reflective strips, after listening to employee and public opinion, we have decided to maximise visibility and safety for our parking attendants by introducing high-visibility vests."

CPS had previously insisted that their uniforms complied with European guidelines and there had been no accidents related to "parking attendant visibility". Parking attendants are trained in road safety, particularly when taking digital images.

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IDFIMH

our parking theives dress in grey so no bugger will see them creep up.
I wonder why.

As they used to say. 'Wait untill you see the whites of their eyes'

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Make trafic wardens redundant. PARK LEGALLY.
Congestion charge! Before it was free.

and now you cant spit at them either (as if you did before)...

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/07092005/325/dna-evidence-traps-traffic-warden-spitter.html

DNA evidence traps traffic-warden spitter
Reuters Wednesday September 7, 01:54 PM

LONDON (Reuters) - Much abused and derided traffic wardens have a new weapon in their struggle with irate car drivers -- DNA evidence.

Car-parking firm NCP is to issue one pound DNA "spit kits" to its staff after a man who spat at a traffic warden pleaded guilty to assault when his saliva was identified.

Dennis Samms, 42, of Manchester, will be sentenced on Thursday.

"This is the first successful prosecution in Britain of the assault of a traffic warden due to DNA evidence," a spokesman for NCP, the company that employed the traffic warden, said.

"The DNA evidence did not come out in court, but that is because the man knew he was guilty."

NCP, which manages off-street parking for various local authorities, supplying traffic warden and vehicle-clamping services, began a trial of the "spit kit" in March and now plans to make the kit more widely available to its wardens.

"Nobody should have to be spat at while they go about their work. The 'spit kit' will be a powerful deterrent against the small minority who think they can spit at traffic wardens," said the spokesman.

the police have offereed to supply these pots to us.
but no one has taken them up yet.
still at least we are in their thoughts.
but is it really a problem for us?