21 April (Part 2) - Parking trap
Plymouth council was in the news
last week for issuing a fine to the driver of a Royal Mail van which stopped to empty a post box. Royal
Mail sealed the box in protest. But anything Plymouth can do Bexley can do better, they were
busy fining mail vans long before Plymouth jumped on the band wagon.
Someone who was driving along Watling Street with a letter to post told me of
another post box trap a month or two ago and I’ve only just found some spare
time on a dry day to go and take a look.
As you may be able to see (click to enlarge) the road bears some fading
zig-zag lines outside a school and a notice has been
taped to the fence on each side of the road. It isn’t likely to be read in full
by any motorist tempted to pull up before slipping his letter in the box. It’s
not big enough for the restriction times to be read from the car. Expensive if
one of Bexley’s gestapo wagons is lurking nearby. But with stopping prohibited
from 8 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. In typical Bexley fashion this applies to
school and bank holidays too.
It's clearly not the best place to post an urgent letter. If Royal Mail obeys
the rules only the 6.30 p.m. collection is possible.
My correspondent who fell into this money trap fortunately didn’t get a ticket.