Traffic congestion and accidents caused by illegal parking, in particular double parking, are grave and growing concerns to the community at large and many district councils. 

 

While this issue requires an inter-departmental solution, the Force continues to work hard in maintaining traffic flow and road safety through enforcement and education. Despite the many challenges faced by frontline officers, the number of Fixed Penalty Tickets issued for parking offences has increased each year from more than 718 000 in 2009 to more than 1 020 000 last year.

 

Chief Superintendent (Traffic) Paul Stripp has been working with formation commanders to draw attention to the threat posed by double parking and the need for stricter enforcement when drivers ignore police warning.

 

"Double parking restricts the views of pedestrians crossing the road, increasing their risk of being hit by vehicles," he noted, citing two accidents which highlighted this danger. In January this year, double-parking blocked the view of a pedestrian and consequently an oncoming vehicle hit him. In June, serious double parking led to a chain collision causing damage to four vehicles.

 

CSP Stripp pointed out that some drivers ignored and abused the warning given by police officers and Traffic Wardens. When asked to "move on", the offending drivers circled around the streets and quickly repeated the offence as soon as the officer had left the scene, believing they would not be ticketed.

 

"In view of growing public concern of illegal parking, Traffic Wardens and District Traffic Teams, supported by beat officers, have been instructed to take strict enforcement action against double parking without giving warning, no matter the driver is present at the scene or not. Hopefully a consistent and strict approach against blatant, irresponsible offenders would create a deterrent that will lead to improvement in both road safety and traffic flow," he said.