Frustrated by The total lack of regard - Police will not act

Welcome to my world! I also live near the shopping centre and I put up with this type of parking on a daily basis by lots of different cars. When I rang the police and asked if I was allowed to call a tow truck and have them towed away they asked me not to be hasty and give the person time to come back and have a little chat with them! I'd be out there on guard all day if I did that!

I got in touch with council but they pass the message on to the park rangers and when they get there - is when they get there. I've never seen a park ranger anywhere near my house.

I've offered to be a volunteer parking officer, but didn't get taken up on it. I fail to see why they are ignoring this easy revenue. Not just from the people who overhang my driveway but from the people who park in the empty block next door and all the cars parked in the laneway behind the shops under the No Parking signs! I could issue an easy 10 tickets x 3 times a day and walk no further than 50 metres from my house!

I did get council out once to address the parking in the empty block and the overhanging and they came up with the solution of ...................wait for it.................. 2 Hour Parking Signs outside my house!!!!!!!!!! Idiots!

PS: The empty block is owned by the Medical Centre behind and it's against the law to use residential property for commercial purposes - only the owners of the property can park in there. Yeah right. Not only do their staff park in there but lots of ordinary shoppers use it.

Here's a few pics for your viewing pleasure. If you find out a way of getting action I'd be pleased to hear it.
 

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And more pics.

And don't get me started on how many people use MY driveway to do 3 point turns in to grab the parking spot where they are going to probably overhang my driveway! I'm not joking - it's at least 4 per hour doing 3 point turns.
 

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A very sharp knitting needle applied (inserted) to the sidewalls of all four tyres is a good deterrent.

Let's see the RACV or NRMA or whatever you NSW's call it change thems flat tyres.

And, the tyres are not repairable. ;)

Or photcopy a few dozen sheets with the message above as a deterrrent
 
Welcome to my world! I also live near the shopping centre and I put up with this type of parking on a daily basis by lots of different cars. When I rang the police and asked if I was allowed to call a tow truck and have them towed away they asked me not to be hasty and give the person time to come back and have a little chat with them! I'd be out there on guard all day if I did that!

Much the same attitude from the Police, although they did turn up apparently which led to my follow up conversation.

I got in touch with council but they pass the message on to the park rangers and when they get there - is when they get there. I've never seen a park ranger anywhere near my house.

Which is why, this time, I phoned the local Police just to see.

I've offered to be a volunteer parking officer, but didn't get taken up on it. I fail to see why they are ignoring this easy revenue. Not just from the people who overhang my driveway but from the people who park in the empty block next door and all the cars parked in the laneway behind the shops under the No Parking signs! I could issue an easy 10 tickets x 3 times a day and walk no further than 50 metres from my house!

I did get council out once to address the parking in the empty block and the overhanging and they came up with the solution of ...................wait for it.................. 2 Hour Parking Signs outside my house!!!!!!!!!! Idiots!

The empty block is outside of their jurisdiction. Same as they will not enter my block to book those who have entered and parked on my private property. They (the state government) passed a law to make it illegal ($1000 fine) for towing away those who trespass. So again the victim becomes the criminal for insisting on your rights.

PS: The empty block is owned by the Medical Centre behind and it's against the law to use residential property for commercial purposes - only the owners of the property can park in there. Yeah right. Not only do their staff park in there but lots of ordinary shoppers use it.

Maybe you need to lodge a complaint with the building department (or whatever name) about illegal / inappropriate use of land. At least then they would need to lodge a DA and you can lodge an objection. Much bigger fines if they then don't stop cars parking.

Here's a few pics for your viewing pleasure. If you find out a way of getting action I'd be pleased to hear it.

I feel for you as it appears from your pics that many more cars offend.

Apparently, as per TBW post, its not an offense to park across the driveway as long as in their opinion cars can still pass. Which is the excuse offered by the Police for not booking the car in our case.

"There's a bit on the RTA website about parking rules. A driver can't unreasonably obstruct the path of a vehicle or pedistrian. You could still get a car out of the driveway so one could argue that while frustraiting - it's not unreasonable. Probably why the cops didn't want to do anything about it." TWB

The advice I received is that you want 'No Standing' signs posted around the driveway. In another street where I made this an issue they posted 4 hour parking signs, but only at the start and end of the street and then didn't start patrolling the street. ???????? It wasn't until I complained that they started patrolling - infrequently. I expect that this will be the result this time which is why I sent all the pictures to the council with my complaint.

I feel for you.

Cheers
 
You can ask her to leave anytime, or refuse entry to anyone anytime.
Sure you can ask them to leave, ask them to wait for Police, and ask them not to come in, but if - as this woman does - they simply ignore you, you cannot do anything to add any "oomph" to it. The Police have advised that touching her in any way, or any physical intervention such as trying to block her path (which they're not inclined to do anyway, as it's a PHARMACY not a nightclub at 4am Sunday :p), would likely result in the staff being charged with assault or something like "unlawful detention"/kidnap if the woman complained (which you can bet she would). They then have grounds to sue the Pharmacy, and thankfully it's a profitable enough business that they can wear the loss of a bit of stock, but would be great targets for litigation.

As Dazz has said, it's extremely difficult to compel an adult to do something that they're determined not to do.

Edit: I agree that HA's situation is more appropriately dealt with by Council, and I'm not anti-Police; I'm actually very pro-Police. But it's frustrating that their job seems to have been changed from actually policing, to filling out paperwork for insurance claims and Court evidence. I'd love to see them directed and resourced so that they can spend more time actually helping people, as they're perfectly capable of doing, and I'm sure they'd prefer to be doing.
 
As Dazz has said, it's extremely difficult to compel an adult to do something that they're determined not to do.

Edit: I agree that HA's situation is more appropriately dealt with by Council, and I'm not anti-Police; I'm actually very pro-Police. But it's frustrating that their job seems to have been changed from actually policing, to filling out paperwork for insurance claims and Court evidence. I'd love to see them directed and resourced so that they can spend more time actually helping people, as they're perfectly capable of doing, and I'm sure they'd prefer to be doing.


....and it's a circular problem.

Because of forums like this, and a heightened level of education, and easy access to information, and everyone wanting to be a bush-lawyer.....everyone is much more aware of the law and "their rights".

They hardly ever ask about their obligations or other people's rights.....they simply want to know what their rights are. Can I do this ?? Can I do that ?? Can anyone stop me from doing this ??

As such, the poor ol' police officer is forced to cover their @r$e legally, which gets them completely tied in knots. Lawyers come on the scene and tear them to shreds for not following the strict letter of the law. Their superiors give them a good slapping and reprimand. After going through the wringer, they think "bugger that, I won't fall for that **** again, it's not worth my job, I've got a family to support as well."

The old days of cops telling people to move on and stop carrying on like pork chops is long gone. Instead of respecting his word and the incident ends after 3 seconds, people get their backs up, think to themselves "hey - I know my rights - he can't do anything to me" and suddenly something that would have been over in 3 seconds is dragged out over 6 months with all and sundry involved. What a nightmare.

Then, after all that nonsense, along comes poor ol' Handyandy or ozperp with a genuine complaint with a plea of - can you help me resolve this issue quickly, - and the council officer / police officer thinks to themselves - ahhh, I've just been down this track and know how the defence lawyer and my boss just tore me a new @r$ehole, I know what to do this time around.

"I'm sorry sir / madam, I'm unable to actually do anything at this time. If you'd like to call XXX and lodge a complaint, you are most welcome to do that."

"But I don't want to do that, I just want this <insert squabble> fixed immediately."

"I'm sorry sir / madam, my hands are tied."


The lawyers then smile, whilst handing out more quantity of ropes to everyone. Bewdiful....:rolleyes:
 
Hey ??


Andy said that the carparking length was appropriate for about 2.5 car lengths, but the commuters try and squeeze 3 into the spot, hence the overhang. I'm presuming the first two are tickety boo.....it's only the third car with its @r$e hanging out which is the problem ??

If the photo was a little wider, i'm guessing that the front car is parked all the way forward, and we'd also see the white line somewhere around the middle of that light blue corolla.

Exhibit A: Two Corollas, Australia's best loved car.

I'm assuming some things but it seems like a group effort to me [/conspiracy theory]

What about asking the council to put in some concrete kerb/barrier things in either side of the driveway, or maybe even offering to pay for them to be put in if they initially refuse?
 
The Police have advised that touching her in any way, or any physical intervention such as trying to block her path (which they're not inclined to do anyway, as it's a PHARMACY not a nightclub at 4am Sunday :p), would likely result in the staff being charged with assault or something like "unlawful detention"/kidnap if the woman complained (which you can bet she would).

I did'nt say it was practical or that it was trouble free, just "yes you can".
A pharmacy is private property just as a night club or the shopping centre is, and I'm well aware of the trespassing laws of NSW which may be different where you are.
But here you can block their path, stand in front of them tell them they are not welcome and you will call the police and them charged if they do not leave. You can also demand their name & address.
What happens after that though is another matter.
And yeah I've done it more than once.
They've called the cops, fair trading blah blah, I too know my rights (the only few I had anyway).
And if they were to barge me out of their way (in any way), then they will be facing the assault charges. A cop once even told me "your much more patient than I ever would be".

PS: The empty block is owned by the Medical Centre behind and it's against the law to use residential property for commercial purposes - only the owners of the property can park in there. Yeah right. Not only do their staff park in there but lots of ordinary shoppers use it.
There is a definition of "commercial use".
Anyone I choose is allowed to park in my property, my neighbours can go sod themselves if they think any different.
If someone I don't want parks in my property then they are trespassing.
That's my decision to make and not my neighbours.
So it's a matter for the owners, which is even more difficult for council than the car parked across your driveway.

I've just been down this track and know how the defence lawyer and my boss just tore me a new @r$ehole, I know what to do this time around.
Problem is they will do it even more to anyone caught in vigilante activities as well.

As for people parking in the driveway, which is the topic here, then I agree it's not on.
Unfortunately having freedoms also has side effects.
 
If the photo was a little wider, i'm guessing that the front car is parked all the way forward, and we'd also see the white line somewhere around the middle of that light blue corolla.

Exhibit A: Two Corollas, Australia's best loved car.

I am not really a car person so when asked what sort of car I actually had to walk up and read the tags:eek::D

Yes, my son was only suppoesed to paint the lines on each side of the driveway but he got carried away and painted one up further.

We are actually going to paint strip that one and then repaint one absolutely only one normal car length away from the one at the driveway.

Painting the lines did help tremendously, reducing the incidence by at least 50% so maybe by readjusting the lines further improvement are made.

This is still parallel to the council approach with no stopping type signs either side on the driveway.

If you notice on the pics across the road they have lines on either side of their driveways which were are painted after our initial effort obviously indicating a common problem.

Dazz - Its like there is a line in the sand with all 'minor' complaints falling on the side of 'do nothing but placate the complainer'. The question is at what point does the complaint move from one side to the other, what language do you need to use to migrate the complaint?

As mentioned when people started taking their own action removing vehicles from private property a law was passed to completely outlaw the practice rather than fixing the problems with the practice. Now people who want to enforce limiting parking on their own properties are incapable of doing so. The remedy was supposed to be, council comes along and books the offender but council wasn't asked:eek: and now they will not enter private property. In the end there is no remedy except to install gates at enormous expense, and then they will still park in front of the gates. The issue is still that there is a car that is blocking or potentially blocking access to your private property and there is no way to move the vehicle.

As per Olly's post it is one of the most frustrating issue facing those with property near shopping centres/ gathering points.

Cheers

Ps the original cop adjudicated that this car was not causing a problem as there was still a possibility to exit but what if the car on the other side was more forward or even intruding then who is the offender. There is absolutely no logic in there assessment.
 
Dazz - Its like there is a line in the sand with all 'minor' complaints falling on the side of 'do nothing but placate the complainer'. The question is at what point does the complaint move from one side to the other, what language do you need to use to migrate the complaint?


I've found with some people Handyandy, they simply don't speak the tongue of a reasonable language, and one needs to use another language altogether to communicate effectively with them.

The question really is - Are you prepared to speak another language on this relatively minor issue ??

it is one of the most frustrating issue facing those with property near shopping centres

I solved the problem by buying the shopping centres instead....:)
 
If you got a delivery from a truck and he was to accidentally wipe that car out,you could not get in trouble because the other car was parked illegally,

I would offer to use my truck if I was in the area?:D

Nope, wrong. Even if a car is parked illegally, if you hit it, you are always deemed to be at fault.
 
Hi All

Bit of a frustration today which unfortunately is repeated with regular monotony.

Our unit blocks are very close to the shopping centre and station and as a result parking is at a premium. Then to make the matters worse the area in front of this block is larger than 2 car parking spots but not big enough for anything but 3 very small cars. What is means is that when 2 cars park people think that a third car can squeeze in. Unfortunately they end up hanging across the driveway as per the pic

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We have left notes, we have verbally abused them, we have sent them on their way (when we catch them just parking).

So today I thought I would call the police to get them booked so at least this person would learn not to park across a driveway.

Well the Police came (I wasn't there at the time) and went without booking them as in his estimation they weren't blocking the driveway. Whatthe

It was actually impossible to turn left and when we left with trailer hitched we had to turn right and go around the block.

Obviously I sppoke to the Constable and I offered to leave my vehicle parked across his driveway. He then says "Yeah no worries" :eek: at which point I told him that was BS (some more words were said) and he hung up on me.

Spoke to the Supervisor. He just indicated that it was really a council matter and the area should be sign posted. Yes, I agree, but for my own reason I don't want council involved just at the moment.;) To divert me he then starts telling me how they can't even manage their own parking lot.

I would have thought that the car as indicated was a simple violation warranting a ticket and another parker has learned his/her lesson.

So for those in the know what if anything is the offense that this driver has perpetrated by parking across part of the driveway. Also do the police still issue parking tickets or is this seen as a menial job not worthy of their effort.

I have in the past spoken to parking rangers about diverting from their current round to book other wayward parkers elsewhere (same offense different place) but their response was 'not on my round'.

Cheers

If it was myself, and people kept parking (repeat offenders) I would take things to the next level.

I hate disrespectful people, and I have a habbit of payback to the power of 10. So if someone is disrespectful in that way, I will have to beat them at being more so.

Use your immagination but dont break the law.

:)

Goodluck
 
Use your immagination but dont break the law.

I can't immagine what you could do, without breaking the law on this one.

The only thing I can think of (and I'm not recommending it, BTW) is to walk past with one of those large cups like you get from McDonalds filled with coke, and trip, spilling it all (accidently of course) on the car. But this would also be illegal if it wasn't an accident.
 
It's not worth the agro to be honest. Drive around them and use your energy elsewhere.

If all else fails:

Kill them all and let God sort em out!
 

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I can't immagine what you could do, without breaking the law on this one.

The only thing I can think of (and I'm not recommending it, BTW) is to walk past with one of those large cups like you get from McDonalds filled with coke, and trip, spilling it all (accidently of course) on the car. But this would also be illegal if it wasn't an accident.

My ex twice had people hit her car with doors, once I was in car and the big islanders would have creamed me got out and went "so what bro" whilst trying to threaten my wellbeing.

They walked in shops, and she had dent on her car.

She got back to car and I said start the car up... (minus a few words here) and I showed justice to others disrespect. :)

From that angle what are they going to do? I damaged their car mr police man, and then threatend them because I had four of us and he was alone... now see what nathan did to me? I doubt it.

Is always a fine line. :)
 
An easy hassle free solution is to buy an old car and park it in that spot.

Try putting a sign on your fence. " Construction vehicles entering. Damage to vehicles parked across drive way may occur. No responsibility taken" Could be worth a good bluff.
 
Go and find the biggest rock you can and place it on the road where the cars park.

Most people seem either too lazy or too busy to get out of their cars to move it, and will most likely drive on to look for another spot.

HINT : Cover the rock in honey, super glue, what ever etc so if they do get out the car and try to move it, they are left with a "sticky" surprise that will "stick" in their minds for next time ;)

Put crap on the rock to make it last.

Leave dead yabbies, crabs or other creek/river creatures in water for a week or two till you can smell the water from 3 meters, then spray on cars taking special care to get water in through vents, doors and windows :).

Make it look like you're spraying weeds by holding a rake when doing this :D.


lol so much evil in this world. :D
 
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