General Road and Highway Discussion

[danbrotherston]

In this case, the owner/operator of that truck lives there and occasionally moves cars around or whatever in their driveway and also in the generous bit of public property that is also obviously their property.

In that case, it should be unceremoniously towed, the same as it would be if they left it in the middle of the street. Unless it was just there for a couple of minutes while they were moving vehicles around. But in that case why couldn’t they just stash it along the curb in the vehicular part of the street? Sidewalks aren’t built to take that much weight.

Although note that even my language above shows the problem: I’m implicitly granting that where it is shown in the photo is not “in the middle of the street”.

This whole rhetoric is revealing though.

WHY is it THERE and NOT in the roadway? Why do drivers think this is a better idea. Why do the police agree with them? How did our society get to be so broken?

In any case, the right answer is for them to be ticketed, but it's a pretty big challenge if they are only there for a few minutes. In that case the process becomes a bit more of a challenge because it involves starting by electing a new government, creating a new enforcement body, and completely changing the norms and values in our society. You know...small stuff.

I'll be honest though...this kinda stuff makes me more than "a bit" cranky...it's infuriating. Of course, the interesting thing is that it happens here in the Netherlands quite a bit too...but the context is different. Nobody is doing it to avoid blocking a road...they're doing it because they have no other option...and cyclists and pedestrians just take over the road as needed. Context is everything (although I'd still prefer less cars/car freedom than even this).

Alternative option...the thing is parked but running? Keys are in it? Go wreck the transmission as you move the thing to a less offensive parking location (I might suggest the dude's front lawn).