4 way blinkers are not a license to break laws

[CancelMyService]

Why do people think they can break any kind of traffic/parking law if they just turn their 4 way hazard lights on? Parked in a fire lane? Put the 4 ways on. Blocking an access to a parking lot? Put the 4 was on. Parked diagonally though both handicapped spaces in the rear lot of my building? It's OK if you 4 way!

I don't get it, if you're going to illegally park, just do it. Do they really think a cop will start to write a ticket, only to throw it away if they see the blinky-blinky of the hazard lights?

[Kogarashi]

My mom's only done that with the fire lane by the store, and she still left one of us (capable of driving should the need arise) in the driver's seat while she ran in quick. I'm not saying that's any more legal, but it's the only time she pulled that stunt.

What really annoys me is when a vehicle does that on one of the super-narrow city streets around here. They're New England streets, one lane going in each direction and a third lane for street parking (all full every day), barely wide enough for my Jeep. And some yahoo in a truck bigger than mine (or, heaven forbid, an actual shipping vehicle like a UPS truck or grocery delivery) just up and stops in the middle of the lane with the 4-ways on while they hop out. Which effectively narrows two-way traffic down to one single lane in that spot. Yay, bottleneck. Of course, nobody in this town believes in parking lots anyway.

[blas]

They don't do that around here. People are gutsy enough to just risk parking in a fire lane, or right in front of Wal-Mart's entrance, and sit there. And sit there. As you have read on another post of mine, some people are really gutsy and just flat out park in handicapped spots. (maybe the Corvette guy took his plates off JUST so no one would have plates to report?).

I've seen enormous vans pull up to Wal-Mart's front door. One person gets out. The van sits. And sits. I come out 30 minutes later, and the van is still sitting there, blocking the fire lane.

[crazylegs]

[Crazylegs steps up to the plate]



There is a very simple and very satisfying way to prevent this sort of behaviour that i can employ during my day to day employ. I issue a ticket, this gives me a warm and gooey feeling inside especially when the driver has put the hazards on, they know they are in the wrong hence the lights, hence the ticket. Yes it may only be £30 ($60) but its better than a telling off!

Double, Single and school yellow lines are there for a purpose, if you park on them during the hours of operation I will ticket you, because I'm nice like that

Stay Safe

[BookstoreEscapee]

I only use my hazards when I'm stopping for a specific purpose: picking something up that's being brought to my car, say, or dropping someone off...for example, when I used to bring my grandmother to doctor appointments or something. I'd pull up to the curb, put my blinkers on, get out, get her walker from the backseat, and help her out of the car. If necessary I would open the door to the building, and then I'd move the car as soon as she was safely inside. Did the same at the library, where I would drop her off, then go run errands while she looked for books (they used to let you borrow as many as you wanted from the mass market paperback rack, and they had no due dates; she's bring a bag and be there a while ). If we were shopping (IOW I was staying with her), though, she had a handicapped tag so I would just park in the handicap spot and she could usually walk that far okay.

[GoldFinch]

That isn't nearly as bad as the time some bimbo had turned her flashers on because she was talking on a cell phone. So that immediately gave her an excuse to drive slowly as possible ON A BRIDGE where the speed limit was somewhere around 70.

[repsac]

The only time I can remember using my hazard lights, was a few years back while pulling a trailer. At the time I was a slow moving vehicle, so figured it was best to do that.

[edible_hat]

I've only used hazard lights when my car stalled at traffic lights and I couldn't get it started again. I had to do it quite often too, until that car was stolen and used as a heroin injecting room.

[crazylegs]

I have a new one.

Am working and drive past a car in the mouth of a junction, parked so it is completely blocking the exit lane of said junction. By the time i realise what i see I'm too far down the road so i speed up (just a little over the limit ) and pull a U turn at the next roundabout. I come back to the jct, park behind the car and but my blues on. I'm at this stage a bit perplexed, its getting dark, this car is parked fully across the jct and has its hazards on. So I radio control room ,ask the to condct a Registered Owner (R/O) check. Comes back that the phone goes straight to voicemail. So I begin to leave a note, that is until the owner arrives. Apparently they ran out of petrol.


Are they
a) incapable of reading a petrol gauge
b) incapable of seeing the 20ft lit sign saying PETROL that they drove past
c) incapable if realising that by parking across the mouth of the jct they are putting people at risk

I'm gunning for all three right now, personally there is no excuse for the first two, and teh third one, she could have rolled down hill (the entire road is on a slight downhill incline) beyond the jct or stopped before it.

I was not amused.

Stay Safe

[Acolyte]

My friend parked in two handicapped places with his 4-ways on, but he had a good reason. Namely, his engine was on fire. So, I don't blame him.

[crazylegs]

Namely, his engine was on fire.

Thats the real reason for hazard lights.

[MadMike]

I saw something on one of those "Dumbest Criminal" shows, where a cop saw a car cruising around town, at low speed, with his flashers on. So he pulled the guy over to find out what was going on, and he told him, "Well, I'm really, really, really drunk, and I don't want anyone hitting my car."