[Closed] So...I just asked a chap if he realised why there were zig-zags...

Small world dd. Thought I recognised that first pic.
My sister used to live just off that road; Winchester Rd.
That main road (Sandy Park road?) is a nightmare when driving along to see pedestrians, so I see your point in all of this.

Winchester Road is where our childminder lives stumpy. It has become a nightmare lately with parking on the zigzags, amongst other general parking nightmares on the road. I've made it my single-issue for 2014 to get the council to put CCTV on it. Bristol Council issue FPNs via CCTV these days. Because it's a bit out of town, parking services maybe patrol the area once a fortnight or so - and even if they ticketed the few cars they might see then, it would only be a fraction of the overall number.

When I have had a bad day and want to vent some frustration I photo these vehicles and if possible send them to the company concerned mentioning the laws broken and the fact that a copy has gone to the police and press. (that's a lie but it helps me.)

If I could get motivated enough, I would arrange for a wheelchair user, double buggy pusher and walking-aid required person to get "around the block" in my little car infested suburb WITHOUT being forced on the road.

It is impossible due to all of the cars parked on the pavement, on corners, on speed bumps, blah etc.

You should see this place on bin day.

Council not interested.

Edit: STW has inspired me. Camera out tomorrow.

[i]I know ton, I should have just given him some fist pie and been done with it.[/i]
Careful with that one, there's always someone with bigger fists & theyr'e usually the ones who don't brag about it.

Careful with that one, there's always someone with bigger fists & theyr'e usually the ones who don't brag about it.

I'll let you into a secret. I may not have been entirely serious with that one. Tbh, I'm more of a lover than a fighter anyway. 🙂

Ha, like the 'Champion Gypsy Fighter' (or so he said) on I wing at our place who got KO'd with a couple of bops from a skinny little kid from Leeds. (who had no history of violence, as far as we knew)
It's a zoo out there!

one theory could be that much of the behaviour ( the parking, the curtain twitching, the psycho drivers) described may be linked to the increasing density of people in most cities, compounded maybe in some cases by an increase in ( mostly warranted) road restrictions, compounded by not just the physical and practical elements but the altered state of mind that results.

A combination of what Rusty said earlier, followed up by aracer's comment...

Rusty mentioned that, increasingly, we're behaving more selfishly because, in urban areas, we mostly don't know our neighbours that well. We might know some of them, but not that many. It also appears that lots of us will act like ****s once we're let get away with it, and it's amazing once people realise they're not being judged by their peers, friends, colleagues, etc, a lot of them lose all sense of altruism. In the area where I live, where people seem to get away with parking dangerously like this (y'know, I can live with people chancing it on double yellows...it's not right, but hardly crime of the century), they'll just go ahead and do it.

Take my guy for example. I asked him if he realised why there were zigzags painted on the road underneath where he'd parked his car to which he replied "so I can park there for five minutes while I pop in to the shop/PO" (can't remember which it was now). I assumed his was a smartarse answer and reasoned with him to explain why he shouldn't park there. His response to reason was to get (only ever so slightly) aggressive. Of course, overall, he still got away with it and is no doubt regaling his mates in the pub tonight about the busybody **** that had a go at him about parking on the zigzags earlier. So I dunno really...I might have done something to change his behaviour, or I may well have been pissing into the breeze. I suspect the latter, the more I think about it. And that makes me a bit sad really.

EDIT: Wunundred on my own thread. HOUSE!!

The fact you dont get whey she was peeved is as worrying as her over reaction tbh

Are you still concerned about my state of mind?

Adherence to laws involving cars is discretionary.

I get why she was peeved, I don't get screaming, swearing and saying nonsense things like saying it made her late when she wasn't blocked in. Neither do I get why she carried on yelling and running around the road despite both my business partner and myself apologising to her.

Perceived over reaction often comes from frequent occurrence.

We live directly opposite a primary school in a little village and a hundred metres or so from the church. Most days at drop off and pick up there are parents who think it's perfectly reasonable to park directly across our drive 'just for a few minutes' to save a hundred yard walk with their little darlings. It gets a bit tiring after a while but mostly doesn't effect us as we now plan our lives around not wanting to get into and out of our drive for then. What is more annoying is in the middle of the day when parents go for meetings in the school and park across our drive for half an hour plus. The poor school secretary is now used to witnessing 'irrational outbursts' when it does impact on us!

The best one was christmas day a couple of years ago when some knobber late for the church service decided to park across our drive for the length of the service to save the 3 or 4 hundred yard walk to the nearest proper parking space left. As we needed to get the car out to kick start our own christmas at relatives I ended up walking into and interrupting the service and asking who had the silver BMW reg XXXXXXX. When he finally fessed up I suggested that it wasn't a very christian thing to do to a very quiet church. On the bright side all the village god botherers still look the other way when I meet them and the vicar next door but one still refuses to speak to me. He doesn't seem big on forgiveness 🙂

Good on you deadlydarcy - you might not have changed his way of thinking there and then but he might atleast think about next time.

Krypton57 got it spot on too - it's a shame there aren't more people who politely point out to people when they are being selfish or inconsiderate, etc. But when people feel too intimidated to approach certain citizens (choose your own social stereo-type) as to their response - polite acceptance or quick punch to the face, you can't blame them or when others feel they shouldn't have too as it's not their responsibility I think it says alot about the state of our great nation!

Sometimes I think maybe I'm getting old but no I am just the same person who likes people who show some consideration for others as it makes everyone's lives that little bit nicer and happier - and who wouldn't want a bit more of that. (climbs off soap box and puts it away for next time).

We just need to get people out of cars - people are too isolated from the other road uses and too safe from the results of their own bad behaviour.

The Tube can be a very unpleasant place to be in rush hour in terms of loads of people crammed into a tiny space - people get grumpy and will moan a bit but you simply do not see the same levels of outright aggression/violence that you see on the roads.

Mainly because a) anyone who starts anything risks a punch on the nose b) you'd have to stand there for the rest of your journey with all your peers looking at you just after you've had a childish tantrum...

Riding home last night, trying to get through the gridlock around Kennington yesterday I pulled out to filter and nearly hit another cyclist - I hadn't looked properly. I said sorry, he said no worries and on we went - no aggro even though the consequences of me knocking him off in traffic would have been worse than if we'd both been in cars and I'd done the same thing.

The fundamental difference was I was able to look him in the eye and say sorry - one human to another, face to face... and that's what you lose when we're all in cars...

Plus driving is such a dire experience these days, it's fundamentally frustrating so the second you get in a car, your anger levels are rising...

Krypton57 got it spot on too - it's a shame there aren't more people who politely point out to people when they are being selfish or inconsiderate, etc. But when people feel too intimidated to approach certain citizens (choose your own social stereo-type) as to their response - polite acceptance or quick punch to the face, you can't blame them or when others feel they shouldn't have too as it's not their responsibility I think it says alot about the state of our great nation!

This. And I'm as guilty of that as anyone. Walked past a van parked on the primary school zigzags as I went to meet my kids last week. The bloke was sat in it. Tutted to myself but did nowt. The stupid thing was that it was a contractor working at the school, so a quick word with the headteacher should have sorted it out.

Double whammy this morning. 😀

[IMG] [/IMG]

Plus driving is such a dire experience these days, it's fundamentally frustrating so the second you get in a car, your anger levels are rising...

You say that like its a universal truth that applies to everyone 😕

I drive for my job, on anything from country lanes to big city traffic, at all times of day, six days a week.

I can honestly say I don't find it frustrating at all, and I certainly don't get in the vehicle and experience "my anger levels rising"

Gif of a childs face emerging from behind that car is required. Idiotic to park like that near a school. Adults would be obscured by high vehicles, but small children will be invisible. And most people are programmed to assume that they should make progress at all times 🙁

Adults would be obscured by high vehicles, but small children will be invisible. And most people are programmed to assume that they should make progress at all times

The great thing about this PC Rich, is that it never fails to deliver 🙂 Not twenty minutes after my last pic:

[IMG] [/IMG]

Bristol looks dangerous, yo...

[img] [/img]

Took a while to spot that 🙂

So did you speak to anybody today? The lorry driver? Costcutter (where I presume he was delivering)?

So did you speak to anybody today? The lorry driver? Costcutter (where I presume he was delivering)?

No, I didn't have the heart today to be honest.

Some people are going to park where it's convenient for them e.g. lorry driver delivering goods to a shop or someone in a hurry nipping to the cash machine. Probably safer to move the zebra crossing up the road a bit so it's not placed directly outside commonly used facilities.

Probably safer to move the zebra crossing up the road a bit so it's not placed directly outside commonly used facilities.

So either [url= http://goo.gl/maps/MIocv ]here[/url] or [url= http://goo.gl/maps/e61nD ]here[/url] then? Presumably nobody wants to cross the road between commonly used facilities, and won't mind walking an extra couple of hundred meters so that the poor drivers aren't inconvenienced.

epic solution...after all the pedestrians wouldn't want to be going to the commonly used facilities would they.

FFS

I did wonder if he was being serious, but if taking the piss it's extremely well done!

Presumably nobody wants to cross the road between commonly used facilities, and won't mind walking an extra couple of hundred meters so that the poor drivers aren't inconvenienced.

They may well want to cross the road, but if it's as dangerous as some are making out, then given the choice of being killed by a driver who couldn't see them or walking up the road a bit (make it 100 miles - for dramatic effect) to where it's safer, what do you think they'd choose?

In an ideal world, vehicles would only park in designated areas. That's never going to happen though, especially when the folks responsible for designing town centres don't take the existing uses into consideration. Pray tell, where is the lorry off-loading supposed to park if all the bays are filled with parked cars?

Safest thing would be to remove all the crossings from the town centre and duplicate the shops on each side of the road negating the need for people to cross the road. This would have the added benefit of car drivers being able to park directly outside their destination regardless of their direction of travel and would double the number of retail units reducing unemployment and putting all the empty shops to good use. This would help hard working families*.

*The last sentence appears to be compulsory when proposing any kind of social change.

They may well want to cross the road, but if it's as dangerous as some are making out, then given the choice of being killed by a driver who couldn't see them or walking up the road a bit (make it 100 miles - for dramatic effect) to where it's safer, what do you think they'd choose?

If you put the crossing where I proposed, do you think people would use it, or just cross the road where it is now anyway? How would repositioning it help road safety? Compared for example to simply enforcing the law and making it safer for everybody.

Pray tell, where is the lorry off-loading supposed to park if all the bays are filled with parked cars?

Yellow line just to right of pic [url= http://goo.gl/maps/mpVBI ]here[/url] would seem a reasonable spot, and actually no further away from where he's delivering than he is. Though to be honest, I'm not sure why he should park like a **** just because it's slightly inconvenient to him to be a little further away. To be honest, your attitude is a bit too much "car is king", assuming that the roads should be designed for the convenience of drivers and stuff anybody else.

Pray tell, where is the lorry off-loading supposed to park if all the bays are filled with parked cars?

He's moving a cage with wheels. He has to find the closest suitable space and put a bit of effort in.

I'm suggesting that, in general, taking all users into account and designing something that best accommodates the majority (can't please everyone*) might be more successful than hoping everyone obey's the law/highway code at all times and having enough manpower to deal with any dangerous parking criminals.

* you'll read that and assume that i mean cars. You'd be wrong of course. Human is king!

The cheapest and easiest solution would be to install CCTV and ticket offenders. As is always the case, it'll most likely be the same bunch of arses parking there all the time. It's only them you need to stop, not dick around with a system that easily works. When you mitigate for arses, it just encourages them and more to be even bigger arses.

<applause> for dd. Sometimes the law just needs enforcing.

why not just heavily restrict the use of cars and lorries in urban environments, and then we can all live in much nicer and safer places, and the businesses will enjoy healthier profits, and local communities will be wealtheier and healthier as they will a move about a bit more, and b, be spending less of their money on cars and petrol and have more to spend on lovely things that are produced and sold locally.

<dailyexpressmodeon>Property prices will rocket<dailyexpressmodeoff>

Just realised you're in Grounded on Sandy P.

I live just round the corner. Perhaps we could monitor this crossing in shifts?

Jamie - applause, quality work sir!

Probably safer to move the zebra crossing up the road a bit so it's not placed directly outside commonly used facilities.

And it's not just immense ****wit politicians who objects to "scameras" plenty who seem to think road rules shouldn't be enforced

May be being a bit thick here but, if people did email pics of offending F***tards would Plod do anything?

Edit: Seems the swearfilter doesn't pick that one up
Also: Nice work Jamie.

so instead of enforcing the rules we just change how the rest of the world works

I'm not talking about changing the world, silly, but a bit of common sense. Is this particular crossing an accident hotspot? Are any zebra crossings for that matter? If the stats on these crossings suggest illegal parking was is real concern to human safety, the law enforcers would be all over it, wouldn't they?

It's not something i've been guilty of but i do see this sort of parking all the time, and because it's pretty common round these parts (people [i]do[/i] treat them as "i'll only be a minute" parking zones) drivers tend to drive accordingly and be that bit more attentive.

To me it's a minor issue, but if you really wanted to stop people parking on them, you'd have more overall success if you designed them to be less inviting to drive/park on rather than prosecuting anyone who did.

Going back to fundamentals for a second here...

And apologies if the question appears simple...

Do you realise why there are zigzags painted on the road approaching pedestrian crossings?

Tweet the pics of the lorry to the company and the local old bill and council...all in the same tweet

Do you realise why there are zigzags painted on the road approaching pedestrian crossings?

Of course, they're for taking pictures of. Since it's your local, and you're on, do you know of any accidents at that crossing?

The council just advised that I ring their parking services number with the vehicle and location - which is a bit pants really, as I guess the car would be well gone by the time anybody came to ticket it.

Of course, they're for taking pictures of

That's funny. Do you know? (hint: it's pretty easy to find on google)

do you know of any accidents at that crossing?

That's pretty irrelevant to the point being discussed. Personally, I'd rather there were no accidents in the future. Accidents at pedestrian crossings tend to be human-vehicle interfaces and don't tend to go too well for the human.

if you really wanted to stop people parking on them, you'd have more overall success if you designed them to be less inviting to drive/park on

I imagine a CCTV camera which automatically issued penalties (and a nice big sign explaining that) would do quite a good job of making them less inviting to park on.