Monday, March 12, 2012
Littering motorists grind our gears
No one at the Hoot offices enjoys seeing litter on the ground, so we’re welcoming the news that soon there may be a fining system coming into effect for drivers who drop rubbish out of their car onto the road.
As difficult as it might be for the car-proud among us, it is important that we keep the UK’s highways clean by keeping the rubbish we’ve made in our cars until we arrive at our destination and can throw litter away in a bin. By the end of the month, authorities in London will be able to fine littering motorists up to £100 for their offence, and we’ve got our fingers crossed (like the Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman) that authorities all over Britain will soon be able to fine drivers who litter too.
It isn’t fair that some road users think it’s alright to make a mess of our roads and have councils and other authorities clean it up, usually at a cost to all tax payers.
The Highways Agency has said that if all of the rubbish thrown on UK roads annually was collected and put into bin bags – 700,000 of them would be filled.
So, it you never litter the roads we applaud you – and if you do, don’t.
Photo © riverofgod via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: bin, clean, councils, drivers, fine, highways, Highways Agency, litter, littering, motorist, offence, road, rubbish
Monday, February 13, 2012
Snow parking
Usually ice and snow give motorists problems because they have to try and navigate slippery roads, and deal with road closures too.
However, some drivers in Chiswick, West London, had some rather different problems with snow and ice.
A large snowball was taking up a parking bay for much too long – without paying we might add – and was quite rightly given a parking ticket for it.
Now, when I say ‘large’ you may imagine something about the size of a football. No – this was a 4-foot high monster snowball – and someone wasn’t very happy that it was taking up precious road-side space.
A spokesperson for Hounslow County Council stated, “It's good to see people support our efforts to keep our roads clear for traffic. However, removing a penalty charge notice from a vehicle, unless you are the driver, is an offence.
“This could lead to the driver unfairly missing out on the chance to pay early at the lower rate through no fault of their own.”
Hopefully the person who was meant to get the ticket did receive it before their fine was increased.
We wonder whether the snowball vacated the space after being penalized for its offence, or whether it is still sat resolutely on the tarmac attracting odd looks from passers-by.
Disclaimer: Attached photo is not of offending snowball. Photo was posed by model.
Photo © chatirygirl via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: Chiswick, fine, ice, London, motorist, offence, parking bay, parking ticket, road, road-side, snow, tarmac
Friday, December 2, 2011
Disobeying disabled bay rules
Here at Hoot we are often baffled by the arrogance of some of the motorists we read about in the news, and we’ve found a new driver to shake our heads and tut at today!
A man in his 40 in Essex decided to park his Bugatti Veyron, a sleek car worth around £839,000, in a disabled bay.It is important at this moment to say that there was no disabled badge on display!
Passers by were taking photos of the fancy car on their mobile phones when a traffic warden spotted the offending vehicle and wrote the driver a well-deserved ticket.
When the owner returned to his vehicle, a witness states that he didn’t seem that bothered by the ticket, got into his car and sped away from the scene.
It is irritating that although the man didn’t escape without a ticket – the maximum fine is £1000 – it’s probably just loose change for someone who owns such an expensive vehicle!
We can only hope that this fine means he can’t buy as many cocktails when he goes on his yearly tropical holiday this Christmas…
Grrr!
Photo © Sudhanwa.. via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: Bugatti Veyron, car, disabled bay, Essex, fine, motorists, park, ticket, traffic warden, vehicle