Original Title: “Traffic police” or worse “tow truck gatherer informant”?
I was wondering what these people do. You see them all around streets-sometimes they walk, sometimes they drive a scooter. They’ve got this thingamagic that they type info into and then stick something onto a car that is parked in a parking space on a street. Also this morning I was walking to the stationary store and saw this lady with a clipboard, walking on the pavement where scooters are parked and writing down the registration plates on a long list. In all cases the people wear these “traffic jackets with the stripes” on. My question is thus : what do these people do? Are they giving out tickets? Are they gathering info for tow trucks to come and tow away said vehicles?I would just like to know. A little sensitive to tow trucks and their said machinations right now…
printing out forms that become a fee for parking in that area: not a fine, but a fee, a little like parking meters but manually distributed. they add an extra stamp for every half hour or hour, and you can pay the fee at most convenience stores. normally tucked under the wiper of a car, or stapled into a loop and attached to the rear grab handle of a scooter. in the rain, they put them into a plastic bag: how nice! do NOT fail to pay these, as they then get more expensive…
the one writing down numbers of scooters may well have been prepping for a tow truck or scooter removal agency (they will simply impound your bike and write the number plate plus a contact phone number in chalk on the street surface if they take your bike, and you pay a fee to get it back) don’t park in areas that have no paring signs, or on most sidewalks in downtown areas.
alternatively, she may have been taking part in a blitz on unregistered or expired rego vehicles.
alternatively, she may just have been an anorak collecting number plates for some schizophrenia-induced obsession.
They are living walk around meter maids … bad job, hot in summer, cold in winter … they just add an amount (stamp) to the ticket every hour they pass by … payable at most convenience store island wide …
At least out here parking was a nightmare until they started with the meter maids. I don’t mind paying for my parking, if it means that parking is available, and that the roadsides become less of a mess.
Meter Maids with no meters. Cool stuff.
Park your car or scooter in a designated spot and you get a slip of paper that you take to a 7-11 and pay. Cheap and easy. No expensive meter maid vehicles, salary, etc. Just go pay and go on your way.
Damn good system!
I kept forgetting to pay mine within 7 days, so ended up with extra late fee on them. Recently I set up credit card payment, so they get paid automatically. Just have to remember to doublecheck the credit card bill each month!
(Also, do check the license number before paying. A few months ago I was at the convenience store and I woman realised her ticket was not for her car. Luckily, she noticed before paying it.)
[quote=“asiababy”]
(Also, do check the license number before paying. A few months ago I was at the convenience store and I woman realised her ticket was not for her car. Luckily, she noticed before paying it.)[/quote]
This is a really common trick, put your ticket on some other schmuck’s car and let him pay. Also, it’s common that someone who doesn’t like you removes the ticket from your car so you don’t know you have a ticket at all, and get hit with the extra fines for not having paid the ticket you had no idea was on your car.