Courtesy of Mr Mustard.
===============================Traffic Warden sets a terrible exampleSo here we have a 12 second clip of a scooter mounted NSL Ltd / Barnet Council traffic warden going about his lawful duties of issuing PCN to all and sundry on 5 March at almost 3pm on a Sunday afternoon. Now given that a traffic warden's job is to punish those who break parking laws then one can reasonably expect them to demonstrate 100% compliance with driving laws, can we not? Anything else would be hypocritical in the extreme.
Firstly, a health & safety point. Manufacturers of flip up helmets caution you against riding with the front of the helmet in the upright position. The whole point of the front of the helmet is to stop your face hitting the tarmac should you have a crash. The visor should also be down whilst you are moving to stop flying stones or flies & wasps hitting you in the eye. You only have to look at the state the front of your bike gets into to see how much debris there is in the air.
How many rules of the road does the traffic warden break?
1. He undertakes cars. That was a breach of the Highway Code and not at all necessary.
2. He undertakes (= overtakes) the front car which is stopped. That is a breach of the law (anything which says MUST NOT in red in the Highway Code is a statement of the law).
3. He crosses the stop line at a time at which the lights are red. That is also a breach of the law.
NSL are very fond of quoting the Highway Code to people who have committed a parking contravention. Clearly not so keen that their employees abide by it.
It strikes Mr Mustard that the contract with NSL really ought to be amended to require scooter riding civil enforcement officers (traffic wardens) to undergo IAM or ROSPA training so that they demonstrate to the public at large the highest standards of riding ability and compliance with the rules and the laws of the road.
Guilty as not chargedYours frugally
Mr Mustard(Before you ask, Mr Mustard has passed both IAM and ROSPA advanced motorcycling tests)
Update 9 March 17: Barnet council parking management are very unhappy with the unsafe riding of the CEO and are taking immediate action to ensure that all riders comply with traffic law (they can park on double yellows if necessary and safe to do so) and do not put their safety, or that of other road users, in jeopardy.http://lbbspending.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/abovethelaw.html