Call Out the Cops
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Now that Boris Johnson has taken over as chairman of Transport for London (tfl), he might have a quiet word with the chaps that control his parking wardens and ask them if they would mind terribly using their noddle once in a while.
Last Monday afternoon, if you happened to have been burgled, mugged or stabbed in Islington, the chances of having a police officer attending to the incident would have been very slim. And I’ll tell you why. Nine of them in three police vehicles, sirens wailing, blue lights flashing, had descended on a pensioner with a disabled badge who had had the temerity to park in a disabled bay at a time 'not prescribed'.
The driver was sitting in the car, but instead of asking the driver to move, a parking warden (or traffic officer as they preferred to be called) had crept up behind the vehicle and informed the occupant that he would be issuing a penalty ticket (he hadn’t started writing it yet).
The driver and his passenger said that they would move immediately, whereupon the 'traffic officer' said if they did, the fine would be double. And this is where the fun started.
The passenger took the parking ticket from the 'traffic officer' in a rushed manner (OK, it could be described as snatched), then said 'traffic officer' dropped all the paperwork he was carrying on the pavement much to the amusement of a small crowd that had gathered. Clearly, our 'traffic officer' was now getting flustered and yelled into his radio, "Urgent assistance required!", claiming he had been 'assaulted'. And that’s how nine officers from the Metropolitan Police Service came to be in Upper Street last Monday.
The traffic officer said he was going to bring assault charges until it was pointed out to him that he had not been touched and he would look rather foolish he continued to claim assault against a little old lady pensioner with two dodgy knees, a recent heart bypass operation and a disabled badge.
So here’s a suggestion Boris: We don’t expect our public servants to have first class honours degrees in scientific disciplines, but we do have a right to expect all of them to go about their duties with a degree in common sense. After all, we don’t want all those tourists we are expecting for the Olympics thinking those supposed to be controlling London’s traffic flow are simply a bunch of mindless jobworths, do we?
- The Old Codger
The driver was sitting in the car, but instead of asking the driver to move, a parking warden (or traffic officer as they preferred to be called) had crept up behind the vehicle and informed the occupant that he would be issuing a penalty ticket (he hadn’t started writing it yet).
The driver and his passenger said that they would move immediately, whereupon the 'traffic officer' said if they did, the fine would be double. And this is where the fun started.
The passenger took the parking ticket from the 'traffic officer' in a rushed manner (OK, it could be described as snatched), then said 'traffic officer' dropped all the paperwork he was carrying on the pavement much to the amusement of a small crowd that had gathered. Clearly, our 'traffic officer' was now getting flustered and yelled into his radio, "Urgent assistance required!", claiming he had been 'assaulted'. And that’s how nine officers from the Metropolitan Police Service came to be in Upper Street last Monday.
The traffic officer said he was going to bring assault charges until it was pointed out to him that he had not been touched and he would look rather foolish he continued to claim assault against a little old lady pensioner with two dodgy knees, a recent heart bypass operation and a disabled badge.
So here’s a suggestion Boris: We don’t expect our public servants to have first class honours degrees in scientific disciplines, but we do have a right to expect all of them to go about their duties with a degree in common sense. After all, we don’t want all those tourists we are expecting for the Olympics thinking those supposed to be controlling London’s traffic flow are simply a bunch of mindless jobworths, do we?
- The Old Codger
