Yesterday I needed to use an on-street pay and display meter.
Having paid 60p for 30 minutes, I noticed that the time on the meter and the expiry time were 5 full minutes in front of the true time. Checking other meters in the town it seems most of them are set 5 minutes fast.
Anyone aiming to return by the (wrong) expiry time on the ticket therefore runs the risk of an excess charge if they time their return by their own watch.
Knowing how anti-car this Local Authority is, I suspect this is a deliberate policy.
Has anyone else come across this issue?
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I suspect this is a deliberate policy.
Of course it is, I mean its not as tho they thought anyone would notice.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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Don't know what town you are reporting from, but I have noticed the exact same thing here in Ipswich, and at more than one car park, it seems to be deliberate?
I make sure to check the time I park on my own watch.
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"Having paid 60p for 30 minutes, I noticed that the time on the meter and the expiry time were 5 full minutes in front of the true time. Checking other meters in the town it seems most of them are set 5 minutes fast."
...or maybe your watch is 5 minutes wrong. And anyway, 30 minutes is 30 minutes, whenever it starts and ends, isn't it?
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Is there a thing called 'petty official time' which is five minutes out in whatever direction is most disadvantageous to the innocent citizen? Possibly.
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If it's fast it doesn't matter - buy a a ticket at 12 'true' time and meter is 5 minutes fast ticket will expire at 12.35 - they lose out.
If it's slow it does. Buy at 12 'true' time, clock is saying 11.55, expiry time will be 12.25 - you only get 25 minutes.
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"If it's slow it does. Buy at 12 'true' time, clock is saying 11.55, expiry time will be 12.25 - you only get 25 minutes."
No, you can add 5 minutes onto whatever your watch says, so you still get 30 minutes. i.e. from your point of view you can still go from 12 - 12:30 on your watch, which is 11:55 - 12:25 on the meter.
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Although if you look at your expiry time as printed on the ticket and then resolve to come back at that time by your watch, and if the meter is fast, you will be 5 minutes late (meter time ) and hence more likely to get a fine. So maybe it is intentional.
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Surely they can only use the clock on this meter, rather than your watch, to check whether you have overstayed the payment time. It does give rise to the fact that all meters were reading the same time, but is the warden's watch set to the same time? If this is out then he/she could be issuing tickets illegally. Discuss.
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Roger
I read frequently, but only post when I have something useful to say.
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Artful, next time I see a warden round work I'll ask him which watch they use to check the time!
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Am I missing something here? All I do is look at the time on the ticket, then get back to the car before that time shows on my watch. (DV)
Seems simple enough.
Arguing over a few lost minutes - and their price in parking terms - isn't worth a fine, is it?
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Park up, pay for 30 mins, look at ticket issued time, leave ticket in car, go to do whatever, look at watch, checked with pips to ensure accuracy, go back 30 mins after ticket issue time per correct time on watch. Result a parking fine cause you were 5 mins late. Surely it is up to parking authority to ensure correct time shown on their machines.
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Yes Mike Hannon, you are missingthe whole point, which is when you return you have a ticket because the state is using the wrong time to issue tickets and penalties.
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the state is using the wrong time
Ah of course,
Its a state sponsored plot to cheat us all. No doubt the fines are used to take away our civil liberties. Possibly the state is stealing time from our time space continium.
No of course. now I understand, its a tax on time and space itself.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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Hang on, all the parking meter tickets I buy have the expiry time on them, not the issued time.
All I have to do is look at the expiry time on the ticket and use my chronograph watch (16.99 euros from Lidl and correctly set) to return to the car at or before the printed time.
The calculated expiry time also includes automatically things like the free lunchtime parking element.
I can't remember what was on the tickets in the UK - maybe this is just a French thing?
This all seems to be getting out of hand...:-)
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Mike Hannon said "All I have to do is look at the expiry time on the ticket and use my chronograph watch (16.99 euros from Lidl and correctly set) to return to the car at or before the printed time."
Yes but Mike Hannon we're talking about if the meter is 5 minutes fast.
So, park up, get a ticket at 12pm true time, which is also the time on your watch.
The meter though thinks that it's 12:05. So the ticket will say expires at 12:35.
If you then return to your car when your watch says 12:35, the time on the meter will be 12:40, and hence you will be liable for a fine.
Presumably the parking attendant will go by the time shown on the meter.
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I can't believe this.
The time of day has nothing to do with anything. Ignore it and forget it.
1) Insert coins in meter for length of time desired.
2) Return before that time interval has expired.
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Yes Lud, but how are you measuring that interval? If you look at your watch as you pay, and return after 30 minutes has elapsed on your watch you're fine. But if the meter clock is fast and you return when your watch is at the time marked on the ticket, you will have overstayed (according to the meter clock) and be liable to a fine.
Basically use one or the other, your watch or the meter to measure the start and end time of the interval. Don't mix them.
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Basically use one or the other, your watch or the meter to measure the start and end time of the interval. Don't mix them.
My very point tw. You use your own watch or mobile phone to check the time, unless you are meaning to wait by the ticket issuing machine!
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Surely the attendant wil check the displayed ticket against the time on his handheld (presumably these are synched daily). There are five gash minutes here and if it's deliberate its to avoid argument, not make money.
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I've actually managed to get this inconsistancy to work in my favour.
I'd borrowed a mate's car and parked it outside my house - didn't have a parking permit on his car so I paid for 30 mins. I run in for a shower and I casually look out the window to see a happy parking ticket attendent merrily fixing the yellow badge of death to my mates car.
I ran out in a towel! which was frighting enough for the poor lady! and asked what she was doing, she told me that I was 2 mins over the limit.
Now I don't know if it was my charm (remember I'm in a towel in the middle of Ealing - Uxbridge Road) or the fact that I marched her up to 2 parking meters that each displayed different times (1-3 minutes) difference that persuaded her to write on the ticket 'driver drove away'
Hence no ticket and after that I felt a right plonker as I'd locked myself out of my house.....and there's a whole new story about how I got in, but I digress!.
So they can be quite reasonable if you can prove that the meters are all out of synch!
Cheers
Benjurs
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Don't park anywhere around 2.00am Sunday week or you'll overstay your welcome by an hour. Mind you, the only place this is likely to happen at that time of night will be something like short term parking at a major airport!!
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The OP said 'an on street pay and display meter'. Where I live, pay and display means taking a ticket with a time of expiry marked on it clearly and displaying it in your car. You then use your watch to tell you exactly when to return.
If he meant a meter where you pay in advance for a set number of minutes and the meter displays the time which can be watched by a warden, then that's a different issue isn't it?
Thank heavens I live in a country which may have its faults, but raising local authority finance by hounding drivers for an odd minute or two over the odds doesn't appear to be one of them.
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I parked in Holmfirth last Saturday, arriving at 12:20 on the 14th. The parking ticket read 09:20 on the 15th. Can you get faster than that ?
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