[Wanderers]

Is it possible to find out, how many cars in, say Simla came from outside ? Some sort of entry tax like other hill stations like Mount Abu can give the daily count. This will tell us who are the real culprits. If outside cars are more, this arrangement is not going to solve the parking problem.

[am1m]

Sigh. While the intent may be to de-congest city roads, the implementation will, as always be silly, open to bribery, and ultimately ineffective.

Already there are so many questions/loopholes - what happens to existing cars, what about people who live in rented accommodation where the landlord has not provided enough parking space, etc etc. And just like how any other argument in this country finally reduces to - someone has already suggested making a distinction between 'outside cars' and 'local' cars.

Why not just crack down on improper parking in a big way? Vehicles that are parked on footpaths, vehicles that block traffic because of the way they are parked on busy roads, vehicles that are parked in no-parking zones, vehicles that stop on the side of the road so that the driver can drop someone or run across and buy something from a shop, taxi chaps waiting for fares right in the middle of traffic, water tankers and trucks parked in residential areas, auto guys who basically park whenever they feel an itch in their lower parts, bikes who park in front of shops, restaurants and malls without proper parking that offer 'valet parking' which is basically parking on the road, buses that don't stop at bus stops but away from them, private vehicles that park in front of bus stops, hordes of parents dropping off their kids to school all jamming up in front of the school gates...the list is long and with easily identifiable instances.

There are already laws in place for those. And strictly enforcing those on a daily basis will go a long way in ensuring smooth traffic.

I was walking around a 'posh' area of Bangalore one Sunday. Saw a bunch of vehicles parked in front of a popular cafe. On the footpath, on the road, everywhere, blocking both pedestrian and vehicular traffic. What was funny was more than one vehicle had some 'save the environment/trees/etc' green-themed sticker! With the state of traffic on that road, I'm sure the great authorities will figure out that the only way to go forward will be to cut the trees on the road and widen it. So much for 'save trees'! And those/us same vehicle owners will go on social media to protest!

[gkveda]

Originally Posted by OrangeCar

Who will be responsible for scuttling the growth of auto industry (and consequent direct / indirect employment, tax collections in the form of excise and road tax)? What confidence will investors have to invest in India, when somebody wakes up at his own whim and fancy to put in rules?

I have absolutely no worry on this front. I am so confident the sales figures are completely safe(Or un-impacted) due to this law enforcement because, I believe in capabilities of our dealers and RTO officers sincerity in overcoming this law.

Whatever rules come in, whatever laws are imposed, it just costs another 100-200 Rs more for a buyer to buy the car(irrespective of whether he has car parking space or not). This fee will be included under the "Other Costs" by the dealer and car will be registered in your name

[deehunk]

I would have been very happy if these intellectuals had asked RTOs to show space to drive a car on congested roads before issuing Registration certificate, may be I am over-expecting things.

[srishiva]

In the area where I live, roads are 40 ft wide with no commercial activity and all are independent houses. Even if we park it outside, it doesn't impact anything.

There are areas where roads are smaller and poor residents have to face commercial activity and lot of other cars parked in front of their houses. This clearly impacts the flow of traffic even if the owners do no have their own cars parked in front.

Now, what rule can be applied uniformly without penalizing some people ?

[am1m]

Originally Posted by srishiva

Even if we park it outside, it doesn't impact anything.

Now, what rule can be applied uniformly without penalizing some people ?

Exactly, it should not matter if the road is 40 ft wide or 10 ft narrow, the rule should be uniform.

There already exist enough rules in the Motor Vehicles Act (Sections 122 and 201, I think, from quick Googling) that cover parking that obstructs traffic.

What we need is STRICT (=Zero tolerance = no tolerating arguments like "I was only parked for 5 mins, i live here only, I was just visiting, I was just waiting for my old parent, I was this, I was that...") enforcement of existing rules by the cops and not endless new rules.

The thing is, all of us are ready to point fingers at others when they break rules, how many of us will voluntarily and proactively comply, especially when it comes to something seemingly harmless like parking?