Unjustified parking fine?

[Leepee]

Heck.....the carpark operator (wilson or whatever) should just install the ERP gantry a the very start of the entrance to the estate.

Give a 10mins grace period in the system, so as to allow people to drop off friends, or 5mins to collect stuff, or to drive up the top level of MSCP to find carpark.

 

This will really stop those cheap skate people from abusing the loading and unloading lots as free parking.

[Turbogoo]

Heck.....the carpark operator (wilson or whatever) should just install the ERP gantry a the very start of the entrance to the estate.

Give a 10mins grace period in the system, so as to allow people to drop off friends, or 5mins to collect stuff, or to drive up the top level of MSCP to find carpark.

 

This will really stop those cheap skate people from abusing the loading and unloading lots as free parking.

I agree with this idea

 

But what will happen to those carpark wardens? They don't have much skill set except pressing buttons.

 

Will create unemployment problem leh, how ar?

[Falc]

It seems like many of those who disparage are those who kanna before, suck thumb pay fine ones. I suck thumb too when i know it's a simple case of breaking rule, eg. getting a parking tix at 11pm 1st Jan, amnesia of the rule is no excuse.

 

Anyway thanks for ALL the comments regardless, it has been ... interesting to see how some pple reason things. hehe ...

 

Yeah, i will try to reason it out with the official, beyond the $100 it's about a cause i feel strong abt afterall, just that sometimes, it's such a frustration talking to non-discerning gaberman pple.

Edited January 31, 2010 by Falc

[Skylurker]

It seems like many of those who disparage are those who kanna before, suck thumb pay fine ones. I suck thumb too when i know it's a simple case of breaking rule, eg. getting a parking tix at 11pm 1st Jan, amnesia of the rule is no excuse.

 

Anyway thanks for ALL the comments regardless, it has been ... interesting to see how some pple reason things. hehe ...

 

Yeah, i will try to reason it out with the official, beyond the $100 it's about a cause i feel strong abt afterall, just that sometimes, it's such a frustration talking to non-discerning gaberman pple.

 

lol. life is much better without that $100.

[Redboy]

You have a case. Keep appealing. No use to seek opinions here. Because there will always be people who will criticize you for the way of thinking of trying to escape the rules.

 

It will only make you feel worse.

 

I support you. Go all the way to appeal and state your case. It sounds ridiculous to be fined if you really just took 5 minutes.

 

Nowadays, those new young punks don't give chance to loading and unloading. The more experienced ones will wait for 15 mins before they issue the fine.

 

All the way bro, they need reformation training at the headquarters.

 

 

I ever saw those delivery vans putting a notice at windscreen, saying that they are delivering items & not to fine them.

I even saw one van with melayu words on them.

Wonder if this is effective for private cars, if one really have a real need to unload/load goods.

 

Anyway, for this case, I think it's worth an appeal. Afterall, TS needs to load items but no loading bay for him.What can TS do?

Write strong but sincere email to them, stating the case.

 

But if it's still not waived after few attempts, then it's not worth dragging on.

May end up getting black-listed which will make appeals in future even more difficult.

Money can be earned back, but once reputation is spoilt, it's even harder to erase. Think about it.

Edited January 31, 2010 by Redboy

[Carndablues]

seriously, i think i'm screwed...... i think i got one last night and one just 10mins ago ( they didnt issue ticket on the spot but i think they jot down my number already .....)... both for parking at double yellow lines and fyi, these 2 areas are common place for parking due to limited parking space and regulars has been parking there for years without much problem but... but.... they super duper ON the ball recently...... seems CNY is nearing and they need bonus... same style like police up north nowadays.......

 

Aren't you Malaysian? Singapore government already do so much for you, take this as giving back to the government's generosity.

[Ed2win2]

My company drivers have to make delivery to HDB flats daily & some of them already got fined for parking along double yellow as the loading bay is fully occupied.

 

We tried appealling a few times based on the following grounds & are not successful.

1. Only 5 mins

2. Loading bay is fully occupied

3. Loading bay is always fully occupied almost every day (for some hot spots)

 

If you try to appeal based on the above reasons & argue, GOOD LUCK!

 

Other the other hand, we cite that we make a mistake, apologise, 1st time parking at double yellow & learnt a lesson, got a high chance they may waive off.

[Kusje]

We tried appealling a few times

........

1st time parking at double yellow

 

Clearly unrepentant.

[Ed2win2]

Clearly unrepentant.

 

We have 100 over drivers/vehicles. Same offence but not same driver/vehicle.

[Alechi]

beside then no case liao

 

he is outside the loading bay lar.....

 

[Rachaellee]

Not sure if anyone can share experience.

 

Me got a $100 angpow for parking beside (not at) loading/unloading bay becoz the bay was taken up. On the hazard light, rush up to 11th floor, pick up some heavy baby stuff from my sis, rushed down, and surprise to see white ang pow there. I thought it will be safe becoz i took less than 5 minutes in all and i wasn't blocking at all but road was yellow-lined.

 

Appealed online, they didn't consider the merits of the case just email back to say they have waived twice previously (years back) and that's it. Furthermore, those two times they waived were for tickets at my own season parking area.

 

I just felt they should have considered the genuineness of the circumstances instead of framing their reason over historical records.

 

Anyone knows if it will help to call them directly? Either way, i'm quite resigned with those people in gaberman already.

 

If you think you have a case, then reappeal. else just let go.

 

[Celicar]

From what I've read, TS is upset that the fine was not waived on the basis of his past record when he feels that his personal circumstances should've been taken into consideration. Whether he would have been satisfied had the response to his appeal said that he still has to pay the fine because the reviewing officer feels that the circumstances surrounding his case does not justify a waiver, only he knows.

 

But the thing is this - parking offences are a dime a dozen every day. Every minute of the day, many drivers all over the country take chances with illegal parking. Every one of them take his/her chance because he/she thinks the odds are in favour of him/her getting away with it, otherwise they would not be taking such chances in the first place.

 

I'd think more than a few of these drivers go on to get caught and parking tickets are issued and some would go on to appeal.

 

On what basis then does the reviewing officer decide?

 

The driver in question, TS in this instance, have the luxury of only considering the matter from no other perspective and interest but his own. The reviewing officer, on the other hand, do not know the driver from the back of his own hand and, most importantly, he has to balance the decision made by the parking warden as well.

 

The presumption that the reviewing officer has to make is that once a ticket is issued, an offence has been committed unless there has been a wrongful implementation or interpretation of the applicable law by the warden. In such a case, any appeal would succeed on the basis that no offence has been committed.

 

However, if the warden has exercised his authority and issued a ticket in accordance with traffic rules, or if the appeal in question is not on the basis that there has been wrongful enforcement, the reviewing officer has to give some weigh to the fact that the parking warden has discharged his professional duty in a proper manner.

 

We can be reasonably sure that every parking offence appellant would narrate circumstances that he/she hopes would support his/her case. Some may go on the basis of what happened that day, some on their past records, etc.

 

What then would give the reviewing officer reason to extend concession to the driver and override the ticket on the basis of the circumstances that the appellant set out?

 

The driver is a stranger to the officer. The only other additional information he has to go with would be the driver's past records. If the parking offence is the first one for the driver, then it may be said that the driver is generally law abiding and thus, a chance is given even though an offence has been committed and the fine is waived.

 

It is worthwhile to note that TS has benefitted from discretion exercised in his favour before, when past fines were waived, probably on the basis of his record at that time. Back then, his record was cited to his benefit. This time, his record was again considered, but not to his advantage, unhappily for him. In other words, at the crux of TS' complaint is not the line of consideration, but the outcome. I personally don't think he would be here to air his grief if they'd waived his ticket, after considering his past record. I don't think it is right to say that a line of analysis can only be applied to a driver so long as the matter is eventually decided in his/her favour.

 

Several kinds of lines could've been drawn along a particular road (solid white, single yellow, double yellow, etc) but one kind is selected. That marking tells a warden what to do. More importantly, it tells motorists what to do. there is nothing in the rules by way of exception that says a driver can exercise discretion when looking at a traffic marking and deciding that a 5-min/8-min/10-min breaking of the rule is justified or that traffic condition (eg. little or no traffic flow) allow the breaking of the rule.

 

On the road, we see the benefits of that every day and one doesn't have to look beyond a newly paved road with absolutely no marking to appreciate what can happen otherwise - either everyone starts deciding he/she can do whatever he/she wants on the road because personal thinking and objective trump everything else, or everything slows down as motorists become cautious and consider what everyone else would do. Smooth traffic flow is aided to a large extent by reasonably anticipating what everyone else would probably or is expected to do, given the rules of the game on a given stretch of road.

 

Back to this case or any other appeal case for that matter, any waiver is essentially a matter of goodwill. To feel that one is justified to it, in the absence of an absolute error in the way a rule was implemented is, I'd think, a little overboard.

[Branteo]

Ah .. who's the self righteous one now.

Ever sped above 90kmh before? You agree 100% with every written law in our statute? You think the law does not cater for execuses and justifications?

 

If I were ever caught breaking the rules (be it speeding, parking, whatsoever), I'd face up to the consequence.

 

It's a risk I chose to undertake. And if caught, lan-lan pay the fine and/or demerit points - whichever is applicable.

 

* Will probably try my luck and appeal ... and if appeal fails .... just pay lor!

 

A waiver, if granted, is probably a gesture of goodwill (cos I believe the wardens did not issue a summons by mistake), and most certainly not an entitlement!

[Chiangauto]

my friend also received ang pow recently as she parked at road beside (industrial area) for just few minutes.cost her $70.........:(

[Thunder7890]

Since lately for the 5 years, whenever I received fines for illegal parking at any HDB parking at double yellow line, I wrote-in and all had been wavied. Now I still parked below my block service road after work during evening time and for the past 3 months liao, so far so lucky and I think it depends on area and location.

[Cactus]

I think I appealed and waived off abt 10 summons in the past 3 yrs.. haha.

Genuine situations to them will seem like any other excuse everyone is giving.

need to make yours stand out and sound convincing...

 

It helps to write in an apologetic manner, with good english, and logical sequencing.

Make sure you got all your bases covered before stating your reasons, in case they ask u to produce evidence.

you can further turn things your way by citing uncontrollable circumstances like stormy weather preventing u reaching your car.. nobody will recall that day raining or not..

look at the map and see if got kopitiam across the road, can say u r trapped there.

 

be creative and recycle receipts.., if u happen to change batt 1 or 2 days after summon, den can use dat excuse and scan in the receipt say car cannot start.

if happen to kana at HDB loading bay on sunday, then must rem to state that its a sun, u can get free parking, so is really have some heavy object to load/unload.

can add in things to spice the story eg that u saw the warden but say she ask u to write in appeal..

 

to sum up, its how creative you are... but after waiving off so many, my success rate is dropping liao.. used to be 90% success.

nwdays kana den i pay up.. waive till i paiseh.

[7007]

Paying fine is part & parcel of driving in SG; if kiasi, either find a proper lot or dun drive at all!

[Redstorm]

If I were ever caught breaking the rules (be it speeding, parking, whatsoever), I'd face up to the consequence.

 

It's a risk I chose to undertake. And if caught, lan-lan pay the fine and/or demerit points - whichever is applicable.

 

* Will probably try my luck and appeal ... and if appeal fails .... just pay lor!

 

A waiver, if granted, is probably a gesture of goodwill (cos I believe the wardens did not issue a summons by mistake), and most certainly not an entitlement!

 

I concurred with what you said. Well, that's the mentally of many motorists in Singapore. Knowing that it is illegal, they prefer to take the risk but when you get the a ticket for traffic offence, they will "KPKB" blaming everything from government needing money for CNY bonus, uncaring, blah, blah, blah, etc. except themselves. One cannot justify for an offence committed. You can only mitigate for your action.