Do not double park your vehicle!

NETIZENS on social media are divided over the double-parking road rage incident that happened in Bentong recently. Some feel the action of the pickup truck driver in ramming the car that was blocking his vehicle was justified. Others say that no matter how angry the driver was, he should not have taken the law in his own hands. They also stressed that the owner of the car should be punished for double parking and obstructing another vehicle.

To me, what was very disturbing about the affair was that there were other parking spaces available and there was no reason for the owner of the car to double park. The owner claimed that he had left a name card in his car. But this is absurd because it would be difficult to read the phone number on the card.

My car has been blocked a few times and I have encountered different reactions from the owners of the offending vehicle. On one occasion, I was coming out of a bank when I saw my car, which was parked in front of the building, blocked by another vehicle. I tooted the horn for several minutes but no one responded. Then I walked back into the bank to ask around for the owner but no one spoke up. After 15 minutes, a lady whom I had seen at the customer service counter emerged.

I scolded her for not responding to me earlier but instead of apologising, she angrily said: “Wait for a few minutes, can die meh?”

I was so angry I nearly slapped her but I quickly realised I might get myself in trouble for doing that.

On another occasion, the owner of the car that blocked mine left a note with his name and phone number on the dashboard. The note said “I am sorry for blocking, please call xxxxxxxx.” A young man emerged immediately after I called the number and he apologised before removing his car.

I hope that owners of vehicles will display a note with their phone numbers prominently on their dashboard and respond immediately when they get called (pic).

The authorities should restrict parking time in lots in busy areas to 30 minutes between 8am and 5pm. This will ensure that some parking spaces are always available, thus preventing double parking and ugly road rage episodes.

A heavy fine, like RM300, must be imposed on vehicles that exceed the 30-minute parking time. The authorities must also have personnel patrolling these areas to ensure that people comply with the ruling. A heavy fine must be imposed on those who double park and block other drivers in order to deter motorists who have a bad habit of doing this.

Many of my relatives and friends park in front of my gate when they come to visit although there are parking spaces available near my house. On many occasions, I had to ask them to move their cars to allow me to drive into my porch. Sometimes when I get annoyed with the visitors, I would park my car somewhere else, enter my house and either casually acknowledge them or ignore them to show my displeasure. Some have got the message and stopped parking in front of my gate.

As habits are hard to change, stopping illegal parking will be difficult so we hope that the authorities will constantly patrol the busy areas and book those who commit the offence. Tow away the offending cars instead of clamping them. This is because the owner of the car that is blocked will not be able to drive away until the offender pays the fines to remove the clamp from his/her vehicle.