Team-BHP - Driving Licence confiscated for violating 'No Parking' zone

Quote:

Originally Posted by charanreddy (Post 3600578)

In this case parking a car at road side is NOT correct, but we don't have enough parking in general. Road side parking especially in side lanes was a welcome respite especially where infrastructure is not present, though it is against the letter of the law which is again subject to interpretation by our brilliant Govt employees..

I would like to know what the govt. has done to improve parking scenario in the city. It is unfair to be always strict on the citizen for making things better.

First of all the government is not in the business of providing parking. If people are willing to (or forced to) pay, plenty of parking lots will start coming up. However people are cheap and lazy and thus do not want to use the existing facilities. In Delhi the government has opened really upsclae hi -tech automatic parking lots where robotic machines park your car and bring it back for you when you swipe your smart card. They have elegant lobbies, toilets and LCD tvs and cost just Rs 10 per hour. Still they remain empty as people want to save 10-20 Rs and do not want to walk a block.

Absence of a legal parking lot is not an excuse for parking in a no parking zone. If there is no parking available somewhere, go to the next available one and walk or take an auto/ taxi back or choose not to drive to such a spot as you won't be able to park. This is how it is done everywhere else. When I worked in San Francisco, I hardly drove to the city during weekdays as parking is hard to find. Similarly every time I went to New York City, I left my car at a train station about 50 kms out and took the train in as I knew parking would be hard to find and would be expensive. I didn't say that there was no parking lot on the street I wanted to go and so I just left my car in a no parking zone. I drove by, looked for parking or better yet, researched it beforehand and then left my car in a strategic location. Now when I drive in Delhi, I often leave my car parked in a safe lot and walk, take the metro or an auto rickshaw to move around town if I am visiting busy areas. Sure this costs me say an extra 100 to 200 Rs but the convenience is worth it for me.

Unfortunately a lot of people in India are used to being lazy and inconsiderate and park where they want, throw trash where they want and urinate where they want. Then they would say: there is no dust bin here, there is so much trash anyway so what does it matter and so on. These are just excuses just like the parking issue.

In this case the punishment is harsh but the lack of concern for laws and rules is such in India that harsh punishments are desperately needed to instill some fear in lawbreakers. The harsher the punishment, the better the results. If OP had been fined Rs100, neither he nor us would be talking about this. Now this will ensure that OP will think many time before parking in a no parking zone and so will his friends, relatives and neigbours who hear about it and many reader here will do the same. Such is the power of substantial penalties.

Quote:

Originally Posted by subscrive (Post 3600787)

No... Completely disagree. Parking in NP zone results in others getting forced to use "detours" and probable cause of accident.
I can understand "not having PUC" as a lesser offence.
But anything which obstructs the flow and is actively harmful (talking on phone while driving) or passively (parking in NP)... Sorry, doesnt cut the ice with this argument.
Of course, 1st timers should be given strict warning. And repeated offenders should get DL cancelled + heavy fine. I agree on that part.
But completely disagree on the basis of your argument.

Well, everyone's entitled to having their own views .

I agree with those bhp-ians that have said that a moving offence ( like talking on a mobile ) is far more serious than a non-moving one like parking a vehicle in a NP area. I believe the law and punishment/fines in most countries - including in India - are based on this reasoning.

And I don't agree that DL should be cancelled even for repeated no parking offences :D . This is based on the law as it stands today - SS-Traveller has pointed out the legal aspects on this.

What is the logic behind declaring an area a 'No Parking Zone'?
a) parking a vehicle there obstructs flow of traffic movement
b) parking a vehicle there obstructs flow of human movement
c) parking a vehicle there is unsafe
d) An area may be a No Parking Zone for some period of day, while at other hours parking is permitted
Also, who can declare an area or a lane as a 'No parking Zone'.
I have seen shop keepers mark area in front of their shop as No Parking Zone with tag 'As per order' - which I believe is also unlawful, and in many areas, even the planned parking areas are marked by shopkeepers as non parking zones.

Given the scenario described by OP, I believe by any logic it should not be marked as no
parking zone. If it does not meet any such area and despite it is marked as no parking zone, I believe it is marked so to satisfy somebody's whim or to generate additional revenue for corrupt officers.

While, I agree on whole with the trouble caused by callously parked vehicles, and I always park at the paid parking even if I have only 5 mins work, or I take extra pain to find a spot appropriate for parking, in this case I feel this is definitely an overreaction by a bully cop.
For the people who are welcoming this (over)action I want to ask - do you think if somebody is sporadically punished or over-penalized (as per police officers' whim) - how t is going to improve behavior of remaining offenders - who always escape punishments and even when they are caught they escape paying bribe.
I think answer lies only in applying law to all violators uniformly. May be CCTV cameras at all busy junctions, recording (in a digitized and compressed form) transmitted to a secure tamper-proof location and violators to be prosecuted with solid evidence, also non violators (caught on whims of officers) may be spared due to lack of evidence.

Secondly, I see a behavioral pattern in the police while traffic
- Catch and punish who is most gullible and their offence is more academic -may be dangerous to the rider/driver, not obstructing traffic or troubling others
Examples:
a) two wheeler riders without helmet!
b) Car drivers without seat belts
c) Number plats with extra stickers ( typically those put by dealers on number plates)
d) Head lights without yellow strip !

- People with serious offences, causing maximum trouble to traffic flow and danger to the fellow road users are let go!
Examples:
a) Fast and rash driving, overtaking from right/left/wherever
b) Talking on a cellphone, and driving at a snail pace on right most lane, oblivious to the honks and flashes of the following vehicles
c) Driving on a wrong side on busy road!
d) Buses and trucks bullying small vehicles and pushing them out of the way

I think somebody should file RTI and get the distribution of booking against various categories from traffic police - I believe what I had stated above will hold true!

Uniformly applying rules in a transparent manner should be the way forward.

Regards,
JLS

I am willing to accept any point based system or harsh laws such as this if its for improving bangalore's deteriorating traffic condition, only when
1. Nobody is above the law and everyone is fined irrespective of them being a judge/politico/government servant/media personnel.

Why should only be the common man be penalised while the babus chill in their tinted cars.

2. Autos, taxis should be fined and not let off with a bribe.
3. bmtc buses who stop right in the centre of the road or just after a traffic signal.

I know bmtc bus drivers work long hours and get tired, but they can't punish others for that. Atleast 20% of traffic problems will ease if they really enter all bus bays and build more of them. And having a bus stop right after a traffic signal is the most unscientific thing I have come across.

PS - to the list of draconian laws we can add the ban of sun film on private cars as well.

I wish these police and law apply similar POV on those rape cases and those politicians looting our money.

If License cancellation is applicable here, i am sure life sentence is perfectly the right judgement for all these politicians scamming the country.

I guess the punishment should be more educative. Make the person hold a sign in front of a busy junction for a couple of hours, do a field trip to few IT firms and pass on the message of why its wrong and spread the message via the offender and make the offender on those who will be responsible to maintain that discipline in his neighborhood providing enough support in case of any issues.

The police here is simply scaring and i am sure they are expecting something in return with New year and festivals around the corner.

Cancellation will not happen but they will try to make you pay a fine and more.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lobogris (Post 3600826)

Sorry Sir, but I completely disagree on the above. In Karnataka I paid close to 15% of ex-showroom amount as Road Tax. When the Govt. collects such an amount from the citizen, it needs to provide good road and facilities including parking.

I am willing to pay the correct price to park. Govt. needs to ensure such places exist by either leasing out space or developing its own parking area and not just wash its hands off.

I have seen that in Bangalore, there are a ton of places where there are no signs related to parking or no parking at all. Where is the issue of parking at an area where there are no signs like OP has done ?

Again, Don't get me wrong. I am not supporting we should park in no-parking area and inconvenience others. The rules lawmakers frame and law enforcers enforce must bake in the ground realities at the place we live, leading to least friction for the general public at large and not behave like a strict, smug teacher at school taking an unrealistic high ground. If it means allowing parking on the road side in by-lanes or putting up relevant signs, then so be it.

I noticed some BHPians endorsing this ridiculous act by the police. The logic is that compliance is directly proportional to the severity of the punishment.

This, if extended arbitrarily, can also be used to hypothesize that the death-penalty for all criminal offences will turn India into crime free Utopian nation in a couple of years. So should we do it?

I, having had my license confiscated for driving without helmet in a colony road, by a particularly obtuse cop, can feel for the OP\'s distress. It is sickening to trawl through the traffic courts for your elusive DL while missing an entire day of work.

This issue should be raised to the higher-ups directly, with some inside "help" if possible.