22 November - James Cleverly : Pompous twit
I quite often take a look at the blog
of our man at the London Assembly and I usually find myself in broad agreement with it. However on the 17th
November he came up with these words of wisdom…
100% Legal - How to avoid paying speeding and parking fines
“I’ve just discovered a great way to beat the system and not pay speeding or
parking fines. Just follow these simple steps to avoid handing over your money
to them! The best thing, it is 100% legal, they can’t touch you.
How to avoid speeding fines: Don’t drive faster than the speed limit.
How to avoid parking fines: Don’t park illegally or over-stay you
(sic) allotted time. There you have it! Simple!!!!!”
Perhaps I should declare an interest in case readers get the wrong idea. I gained my
full driving licence in 1962 after taking six one hour lessons - it was
relatively easy back then. Over the following 48 years I have had no accidents,
no speeding tickets and no parking fines. I try to observe clever dick James’
advice but to say it is simple as he has is stupid. Does your speed tend to
creep up down Gravel Hill (where there is a speed camera) with a 229 bus up your backside? Of course it does so
it’s not always easy to comply with the law. Do you expect to get a parking ticket
while driving if your wheel clips the kerb or if you are held in a traffic queue
that extends back to a bus stop? Of course not. But that is what happens in
Bexley. Later today if the weather is half decent I shall take a few buses to
one of these sites of injustice and see if I can make a report about it for later this week.
James. Stop being so simplistic. In a just society you may be right but please
recognise that many of us have to live in a borough that plays scant regard to justice.
Talking of over-staying your time, I have seen the evidence of how Lidl use
number plate recognition technology to time cars into and out of their car
parks. One unfortunate visitor had his pocket picked while at the nearby cash machine
before doing a big shop in Lidl, losing not his money but his keys. The theft and reporting it caused him to be 115
minutes in the Lidl car-park when their limit is an hour and a half. Result : a £90 fine.