Parking wardens - Their side of the story

[Vulcann]

From The New Paper:

 

Don't hate me, please

 

Benita Aw Yeong

The New Paper

Tuesday, Feb 04, 2014

“Do you have a quota?”

 

This is one of the top three questions Mr Victor Kumaran receives from friends whenever he tells them he works as a parking enforcement officer.

 

The other two include whether he gets a commission from booking cars parked illegally, and if he can “close one eye” if you give him your car plate number.

 

The answer?

 

“No, no and no.”

 

The 29-year-old, who has been doing the job since July 2005, explains that parking enforcement officers like him issue summonses to motorists who park without a valid coupon or illegally. He now runs a team of 36 officers.

“If there was a quota or commission to earn, I wouldn’t have to spring surprise ‘audits’ on them while they work,” says the tall lad with a chuckle.

 

Part of his job is to deploy members of his team to different areas daily, and to ensure they are doing their work. On top of that, he pounds the pavements as well.

 

The job has its challenges, he admits.

 

“It’s not too popular because you’ve got to endure the heat, and quite frankly, once people see our white uniforms, they don’t like it already,” he says with a rueful smile.

 

“Not too popular” may be an understatement.

 

In fact, just a few days ago, he was assaulted in Banda Street and it was captured in a news report.

- See more at: http://business.asiaone.com/news/dont-hate-me-please/#sthash.8CdPZTYM.dpuf

And stories from the drivers?

 

Here goes:

 

Confessions of drivers who got fined

 

We asked some people to confess what excuses they had previously used to get out of parking tickets in the past.

 

“I said I was fetching a friend who lost his way so I just left the car for a minute to bring my friend over.” – Teacher, 47

 

“I blamed it on the officer who didn’t even bother asking me why I was parking there, when I was standing right in front of him.” – Businessman Kwong K. C., 53

 

“I tried to say I didn’t know the rules and regulations. It failed.” – Mr Kelvin Tay, director, 53

 

“I said I had a stomachache and needed to run to the kopitiam toilet, all while apologising profusely to the macik.” – Madam Koh Bee Leng, 36, assistant manager

 

“I said my kid needed the washroom badly. She didn’t.” – Mr L. Ng, 30, who is in sales

 

Of the 50 people we spoke to in a straw poll, 80 per cent, or 40, said that they never gave excuses to get out of a parking fine - See more at: http://business.asiaone.com/news/dont-hate-me-please/page/0/7#sthash.o0QEUeR7.dpuf

 

 

[Watwheels]

Change job lor. But where got "easy job"?

[Vulcann]

Reply of the day [thumbsup] :

 

“I tried to say I didn’t know the rules and regulations. It failed.” – Mr Kelvin Tay, director, 53

Any bros still remember this clip taken about 3 years ago?

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oY1DCTRoB3M

 

 

[Kusje]

No quota/no commissions seems like a stupid way of running the system.

 

We should openly implement a commission system and ANNOUCE to everyone that the commission for each summon is 5 bucks.

 

You will see all the inspectors become more hardworking overnight and a lot fewer violations in less than 1 month.

[Hydrocarbon]

No quota/no commissions seems like a stupid way of running the system.

 

We should openly implement a commission system and ANNOUCE to everyone that the commission for each summon is 5 bucks.

 

You will see all the inspectors become more hardworking overnight and a lot fewer violations in less than 1 month.

 

No basic, commission is 5 bucks per summon.. The hardworking ones will try to get 7-10 an hour, else, 4-5 an hour also good pay liao.. They wouldn't ride kup-kia to summon people liao, will drive conti cars, get out, summon and zoom off..

 

Huat ah!

[Kangadrool]

It's gonna be a dying trade for sure.

 

CP operators/HDB just need to embed chips into entry/exit point, designated drop off area and individual parking lots and charge accordingly. If you trigger entry point w/o triggering drop off point or parking lot, auto summon for illegal park.

 

LTA will embed sensor into road markings and if you stop along the roads for more than 1 min, auto summon.

 

We may be sending own home-made super duper satellite into space soon. Every movement by you will be monitored. You walk out of your HDB flat can also be clearly seen at night. Don't pray pray.

Edited February 4, 2014 by Kangadrool

[Donut]

It's gonna be a dying trade for sure.

 

CP operators/HDB just need to embed chips into entry/exit point, designated drop off area and individual parking lots and charge accordingly. If you trigger entry point w/o triggering drop off point or parking lot, auto summon for illegal park.

 

LTA will embed sensor into road markings and if you stop along the roads for more than 1 min, auto summon.

 

We may be sending own home-made super duper satellite into space soon. Every movement by you will be monitored. You walk out of your HDB flat can also be clearly seen at night. Don't pray pray.

u watch too many sci fi movies liao

[The_Bear]

u watch too many sci fi movies liao

 

Yep, next time our cars will fly. Who needs parking anyway?

[Vulcann]

Mentioned in another thread about what US parking officials faces during their daily rounds in the series Parking Wars.

 

In addition to both physical and verbal abuses, one wheel-clamping team once faced an irate resident pulling out a piece on them.......& was promptly arrested by the cops.

 

In another episode, there was a angry bitchy old woman who could not stop at a suave parking official every time he walked past her. Best part was she was not even affected as she was too old to drive but he still kena from her relentlessly nonetheless! More of a street vigilante against authorities [laugh]

[Jman888]

 

Yep, next time our cars will fly. Who needs parking anyway?

 

 

i watched 'space 1999' when i was quite young, i am still waiting for the space ship look like the one in the series ...

 

when 1999 came, nothing happen, 2014 still no such space ship

Edited February 4, 2014 by Jman888

[Vulcann]

Here's the clip of that "Beat it" old woman in action:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAlTYCNy0QE

[LoverofCar]

fark lah..if you choose not to put coupon....just take it in your stride to accept a summon if get caught lah...even if it is a few minute and the summon come in.......got money to drive car..no money to pay for a 50 cents coupon?...for me....I will only curse myself if I can get a summon if I choose not to display a coupon...I never blame it on the parking warden..because I choose to take the risk....

Edited February 4, 2014 by LoverofCar

[Darky8888]

fark lah..if you choose not to put coupon....just take it in your stride to accept a summon if get caught lah...even if it is a few minute and the summon come in.......got money to drive car..no money to pay for a 50 cents coupon?...for me....I will only curse myself if I can get a summon if I choose not to display a coupon...I never blame it on the parking warden..because I choose to take the risk....

Correct and couldnt agreed with u more. it is the driver choice...

 

Everyone has a job to do and why should we make it harder for others....

i have never reason with parking warden if i decided to take risk...

[Super7]

 

No basic, commission is 5 bucks per summon.. The hardworking ones will try to get 7-10 an hour, else, 4-5 an hour also good pay liao.. They wouldn't ride kup-kia to summon people liao, will drive conti cars, get out, summon and zoom off..

 

Huat ah!

 

 

My favourite is still those electronic carparks which charge by blocks of 5 or 10 mins!!

 

I also don't mind coupon car parks where I could "cheat" 5 or 10 minutes depending how lucky/unlucky I am on the day! The cheap thrills of such cheatings are not too bad.

 

I notice there are some car parks where I hardly see the wardens, these are the ones near kopitiams where lots of taxi ah cheks hang around for kopi or lunches!! I ever parked there without coupon for whole afternoon surfing MCF and drinking kopi!!

[Super7]

Mentioned in another thread about what US parking officials faces during their daily rounds in the series Parking Wars.

 

In addition to both physical and verbal abuses, one wheel-clamping team once faced an irate resident pulling out a piece on them.......& was promptly arrested by the cops.

 

In another episode, there was a angry bitchy old woman who could not stop at a suave parking official every time he walked past her. Best part was she was not even affected as she was too old to drive but he still kena from her relentlessly nonetheless! More of a street vigilante against authorities [laugh]

 

 

Some jobs are viewed as "Public Enemies" by those who are affected by these workers' duties of work. Parking wardens are the most common "victims", wrongly labelled as "Public Enemies".

[Meanmachine]

In ch9nese saying, if your job makes ppl angry and lousy, dun be a c/p summon auntie or uncle, or those ' tay-gu ' whom many hates chasing after illegal hawker , but we hardly see them anymore.

 

Now, as more and more ppl can afford cars, we tend to see Sinkies doing their cheapo act, so long as we put coupon by cheating 5-10 mins, the smile is on the faces, h trick s not the money, it's that they feels good inside, ( sort of getting back at the last summons thy'd paid )

 

Song lor !

[1fast1]

It's gonna be a dying trade for sure.

By right, it should've been be a dead trade by now. I have a nasty sneaking suspicion that the only reason this has yet to happen is that the gahmen is collecting more from coupon violations than they would from "foolproof" electronic parking charges. Probably also why no commission system has been implemented - it would cut too much off their "take".

Edited February 6, 2014 by Turboflat4

[Vid]

Someone has to do it