Taxi Driver Online

Taxi Driver's £35 Parking Fine While Helping Woman

Tuesday, August 04, 2009

A good samaritan taxi driver was given a parking ticket while he helped a woman with her shopping.

Fraser Collingham had parked his taxi in a taxi rank in Front Street in Arnold and was shocked when he returned to find a £35 fine had been slapped on his windscreen.

The observation time recorded on the ticket was just one minute.

"I couldn't have been gone more than three or four minutes," said Mr Collingham, a driver for Alert Cars.

"It's disgusting. I'm trying to do a job and I'm trying to help someone out and this happens.

"It makes me a bit worried about pulling up there next time. We get a lot of regular customers that are not as able-bodied, and if you get a note saying can you help and pick up a customer's bags, what should you do?

"For a £3 fare you end up with a £35 ticket."

The incident happened at about 3pm last Friday. The ticket recorded the observation time of the car by the parking attendant as between 3.04pm and 3.05pm.

Mr Collingham, of Top Valley, a taxi driver for nine years, said this has never happened before.

He added: "I have all the taxi plates and am allowed to be flagged down in Gedling Borough and to sit on taxi ranks.

"I was sat on the taxi rank near Wilkinsons and saw a middle-aged lady struggling with some boxes.

"I offered to help with the boxes. I got out to help her carry them round the corner.

"When I came back the taxi driver behind me had waited. He said he had told the warden I had just gone round the corner, helping a lady with some boxes, but he gave me a ticket anyway.

"I was really shocked and angry."

A spokesman for Gedling Borough Council said: "If a vehicle is left unattended in a restricted area for any period then a ticket may be issued. There is an appeal process for people to offer any mitigating circumstances.

"Taxi drivers are not permitted to leave their vehicles unattended in a taxi rank – they are only allowed to wait for customers, so unattended vehicles may be issued with a ticket.

"Where appropriate we give a short observation period to allow someone to return to a vehicle, but for some offences, such as parking in disabled bays or on crossings, tickets are issued immediately."

Source; ThisIsNottingham.co.uk

_________________
Kind regards,

Brummie Cabbie.

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Sounds like a PH loading on a taxi rank.

What does he expect, if the traffic wardens do their job properly?

And he wasn't very Alert either!!!

_________________
Kind regards,

Brummie Cabbie.

Type a message, post your news,
Disagree with other members' views;
But please, do have some decorum,
When debating on the TDO Forum.

If you read it he states that he is a taxi driver who can be flagged down and wait on the ranks. So I would say that he is a hackney.

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Grandad,

At the start of this week Gedling Council have abolished free parking across the borough, they've been hitting the district with traffic wardens ticketing drivers who have been flouting the law. He wasn't supposed to be there so he got a ticket.

Why was he not supposed to be there?

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Grandad,

_________________
Kind regards,

Brummie Cabbie.

Type a message, post your news,
Disagree with other members' views;
But please, do have some decorum,
When debating on the TDO Forum.

part of the vehicle was on double yellows.

seems he may have been asking directions....lol

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Of all the things ive lost, i miss my mind the most

Just wait until CCTV enforcement comes to your area, then you'll know about tickets being issued for doing little other than your job.

Mind you, a particular clown who used to post on this forum seems to have got on the wrong side of a parking ticket recently and is bleating to the world over this perceived injustice against the human race and all of mankind.

I'm gutted.

In our area you are permitted to leave your vehicle unattended for up to 5 minutes for a "comfort break". Not that there is any enforcement anyway!

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Grandad,

and I know of a "rank" not far away, which is on private land, and the police have no jursidiction to move on non-hacks parked there, PLUS, one of the two circuit bases with offices by the rank parks a PH minibus on the pavement outside...


country yokels!

_________________
Of all the things ive lost, i miss my mind the most

In our area it's 15 minutes as long as the meter is on.

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IDFIMH