DOHA: Think twice before parking your car behind another parked car blocking its way or obstructing traffic flow. You may face tougher punishments including a brief confiscation of your car and end up spending more time for trying to finish something in a hurry.
The Traffic Department has made the rules stricter to prevent double parking and discipline those motorists who don’t take the fines seriously, a senior official has disclosed.
“This violation is not something new but it has increased recently by motorists who do not respect others’ rights. So we have been forced to take new actions to curb this annoying behaviour,” Brig Mohammed Saad Al Kharji, Director of Traffic Department, said in an interview with police magazine Al Shurta Maak (Police with You).
He added that people resorting to such uncivilised behaviour are causing great inconvenience to other motorists who could even miss important appointments because of this. Al Kharji said that the traffic law has stipulated fines for this violation but it also allowed the department to take other appropriate action to tackle them.
“Earlier we used to impose fines on the erring vehicles. But some people don’t care about fines. They may have the capability to pay the fine and they tend to repeat the violation. If we tow away the car and detain it for a few hours, they may realise the seriousness and this could prevent them from repeating the violation,” he said. Al Kharji said the brief confiscation is not equal to impounding. “The same day the person can go and take the car back after paying the fine.” However, the Department will open a record for the violation, when the car is released.
Before releasing the car, the police will check if there is any pending fines for previous violations. If any, the car will be released only after all the fines are paid, he explained. If the motorist fails to report within 24 hours to claim the car, he will have to pay a special fee for parking. “Such actions can curb wrong behaviours. We have found them effective in similar situations like overtaking from the right and parking in areas dedicated for people with disabilities,” he added.
Asked if the department had implemented the new rules in many cases, another official replied that “ in moderate numbers”.
The magazine also narrated stories of some motorists who fell victims to this haphazard parking. A motorist said he had left his car in a parking in front his house. Incidentally, he wanted to leave home a little early to drop his child in the school as the latter missed the school bus. To his surprise he found another parked car blocking his way. He has no other option but to call the Traffic Department. The department contacted the other person and forced him to remove his car. However, the child reached late in school and was issued a warning.
The Peninsula
