Dear Repeat Parking Violator:

I met you yesterday at the post office. You were peering out the glass door anxiously when I walked up. As soon as I entered, you jumped all over me and said, “I’m in the queue! I’m just watching out for the traffic warden.”

Shrugging, I allowed you some space while you continued to trip back and forth from the line to the door and back again. Then you gasped and launched yourself at the door.

“Is that a traffic warden? The man in the black cap??”

traffic wardens

The guy behind us pushed open the door and looked left, looked right.

“No, I don’t think he’s a traffic warden.”

“Oh!” you released a big breath in relief. “I got a £100 (~$200) parking ticket last week and I don’t want to get another one.”

At this point, I bit my tongue. If you’ve already been fined before, why are you doing the same thing again? There’s a reason they’ve designated the narrow alley in front of the post office a NO PARKING zone. You’re not only inconveniencing other drivers, you’re creating a potential hazard by blocking emergency vehicle access. You should be fined for being so thoughtless.

I walked to the post office so I didn’t have to worry about parking. You could have done the same. Or if you had to drive, you could have done what other drivers do - PARK IN A DESIGNATED PARKING ZONE either on the street or in one of the many parking lots around the post office.

Since you decided to park ILLEGALLY, don’t be trying to get my sympathy by telling me you just got fined heavily last week and don’t want the same thing happening again. That LESSENS my sympathy for you rather than the opposite. That you didn’t learn a darn thing and continue to flout the law means you can afford the luxury of paying to dictate your own parking zone.

If that’s your attitude, then you shouldn’t care if the traffic warden is coming or not. After all, you’re special and above the law. You deserve to park wherever you want unlike the rest of us.

Sincerely,
Legal Walker