Parking

[drplokta]

So, the 20 minute free on-street parking in Canterbury that I use occasionally is about to become 30 minute parking. Which will actually be handy, since I park there while getting my hair cut, and 20 minutes is touch-and-go. But what happens now if I'm there for 30 minutes and 5 seconds -- can I claim over-zealous enforcement, and should there be some leeway on the leeway? What people really want is to have 10 minutes longer than they thought they had, and it's not actually possible to do that.

Comments

[eleyan.livejournal.com]

as if by magic - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-31759767

[drplokta]

Yes, that's the story I was linking to. It's not leeway if you know you have it; it's just legislating to prohibit the signs telling you how long you have to park from telling you the truth.

[andrewducker]

Yeah, I was also baffled by that. In exactly the same way.

[vicarage.livejournal.com]

I am in favour of the change. It removes the need for clock synchronisation between me and the warden, and I'd have no objection to them hovering as the last few seconds of the grace period expires. I might abuse it a little by mentally adding 5 minutes to any parking period, but I don't think that will cause problems with availability.

[drplokta]

Clock synchronization between you and the warden can never be an issue. Synchronization between the warden and the ticket machine might be an issue, I guess, but it will still be an issue, as you could still appeal and say you'd only used 9 minutes 55 seconds of the legally required 10 minute leeway, and the warden's watch must have been 10 seconds out of sync with the ticket machine.

[vicarage.livejournal.com]

I am not as concerned about legal appeals to fines as removing low level irritation about having to refer to my watch against a ticket that might be out a little, or my memory of when I arrived at a free space, that could be out a lot.

There is a danger of taking a legal/computer design approach to the problem, where rules are rules to be applied, when what is wanted is more fuzzy, to match human nature.

[drplokta]

Indeed, but the proposed new approach is no fuzzier than the current approach -- it's just moved the sharp borderline. I fail to see how you can in fact legislate for fuzziness, without giving too much leeway for individual discretion which would almost certainly end up being exercised in racist, sexist, classist and ageist ways.

[vicarage.livejournal.com]

Indeed, it should not be legislation, just an enforced guideline, like the NACPO margins on speed limits. I guess the government feel that without legal weight some councils wouldn't adopt the spirit of the poliy

I don't know if they tried the softer approach before wheeling out the big stick.

[swisstone.livejournal.com]

What might be the result is that enforcement will become rather more zealous, which I suspect is not what people were hoping for. As an analogy, in the OU we have word limits on essays. In recent years we've introduced a '10% over rule'. Now, I might have qualms about penalising someone for turning in 2001 words. I have no qualms at all for penalising someone who turns in 2201 words - they've had their leeway. So, transfer that to parking, and yes, you've got an extra 10 minutes, but you'd better be out at the end of that 10 minutes or face the consequences.

[drplokta]

If the limit is an exact limit, then I too would have qualms about penalising someone for turning in 1,999 or 2,001 words on a 2,000 word essay. But if it's only an upper bound, then I'd have no qualms at all about penalising someone turning in 2,001 words on a 1-to-2,000 word essay, as they already have plenty of leeway. And the 10% "leeway" is just as pointless as it is for parking, since it just means that it's now a 1-to-2,200 word essay.

[vicarage.livejournal.com]

But the essay upper limit is probably used as a guideline to length. I doubt tutors ask for error bars in their assignments "2000 words +- 10%", as its pompous. Handling people is not like specifying a system. Everyone should be encouraged to obey the spirit of the social contract, not obsess over the detail.

For essays, like parking and speeding, the leeway removes the grounds for appeal on nitpicking, which saves everyone's time.

[bohemiancoast.livejournal.com]

And if the council has the tiniest ounce of sense, your 20 minute parking will become 10 minute parking with 10 minutes' grace.