Good samaritan fined for wrong parking ! கடமை உணர்வுக்கு அளவே இல்லையா ?

‘Sense of duty’- is the motivating awareness of ethical responsibility. The motivation derives logically from ethical or moral principles that govern a person’s thoughts and actions.  Those who are committed to service would  perform their duties perfectly, even when none is watching around .... remember Vivek comedy : விவேக் காமெடி:  யாருமே இல்லாத டீ கடைல யாருக்குடா டீ ஆத்தரே !   உங்க கடமை உணர்வுக்கு அளவே இல்லையா ?

‘Rules are rules’- should be the same for everybody ...... 0r .... ‘rules after all are man-made; and can be tweaked according to circumstances’- which do you feel is correct ! – it is not that rules are strictly implemented on the meek, but bent for those powerful – be it politicians, rich and famous !  In case of road accidents and other emergencies – victims require immediate attention .... not many come forward to help them – more so, if the victim has bleeding injuries.  People have lot of apprehensions,  especially towards the probable Police and legal enquiries that could land them in !

Here is an interesting report of UK that appeared in MailOnline  - A Good Samaritan student who pulled his car over to help a pensioner he thought was dying in the street has spoken of his outrage after being slapped with a £70 parking ticket fine.

Drew Hollinshead, 21, who is studying marketing and advertising at Bournemouth University, criticised the attendant who he said placed the ticket on his windscreen as he tended to an elderly woman a few yards away. Mr Hollinshead, of Winton, Dorset, was driving along Wimborne Road in Bournemouth when he saw the pensioner lying on the pavement in nearby Wycliffe Road.  He pulled over in the only space he could see - reserved for disabled people - and ran to help her. To his relief he found she was not badly hurt and helped her back to her feet.

When he got back to his car he found a Bournemouth Council parking warden was issuing a ticket for stopping in a disabled parking bay without a permit.  So angered was he by the fine that he ripped the ticket up and threw it in the bin, before later going back to retrieve it. 'It's £70 if paid within 28 days or £35 if paid in 14 days, but it's not the cost that matters, it's the principle of it,' said Mr Hollinshead.

His ire is understandable as he tried doing something good but ended up getting something bad – the parking in disabled bay was perhaps the nearest and immediate place that he could do in that emergency !  - further it is stated that there  was space for about four cars and it was completely empty, so it wasn't like somebody was waiting to use it and the man  was blocking the space.'

It was good response on his part – to have stopped and rushing for help within 30 – 45 seconds on seeing somebody falling.  The man adds that most likely, the Parking assistant could also have been witness to all that was happening.   But when asked he was replied that -  "It gives me no great satisfaction to give you this ticket".

A Bournemouth Council spokesman said: 'We cannot comment on individual cases.'But Margaret Leslie, operations manager for parking services, said: 'Any motorist receiving a fine can appeal against a ticket through the contact details given on their Penalty Charge Notice.

After Mr Hollinshead wrote about the incident on his Twitter account it led to a stream of messages on social media, with one resident, calling themselves 'Understated', saying 'You can tell who is deliberately disregarding the rules, and someone who had no choice.  'Seeing as the warden was near enough to see what happened, it should have been a no brainer. He could see the boy was not parking there for his own selfish reasons or laziness.' Another resident, 'ShuttleX' wrote: 'I'm sorry you got a ticket Drew (make sure you appeal against it) but well done for helping the lady who fell over. 'This doesn't surprise me actually. Parking Services are well known for slapping out tickets in circumstances where common sense should prevail.'

Have you ever faced a similar situation ?

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

16^th Apr 2015.