When are the government and the local councils going to realise that the wardens and cameras, visible or not, (wardens are even hiding behind trees as well!) are making an errand with a vehicle very irksome?

When are they going to realise that there are no parking places? Cameras have also be set up at corners, where it is obvious that some driver has to stop, briefly or otherwise.

I myself much prefer being given a contravention notice by the police than a warden, who is, as mentioned earlier, either hiding behind a tree or wall, or standing up in full view to show that he/she is there, and consequently beware! Particularly in the Sliema and St Julian’s area, the presence of wardens and cameras boggle the mind.

These are areas that have the biggest number of registered vehicles and the smallest number of parking places. The police know only too well what goes into driving today; they realise that a driver cannot find anywhere to park, and, as such, unless the infringement is very blatant, they tend to give the driver a chance to drive off, unlike the camera operator or the warden.

Have any wardens or the cameras ever taken or “snapped” the number plates of polluting vehicles?

The wardens and cameras are always located where the driver has the impossible task of stopping or even less parking. The double yellow lines and the new fancy corners that have been constructed have limited even more the chance for a driver to park or stop!

Having no parking places, one cannot find a place to stop even briefly, as the cameras are there, ready to snap away. You will receive the photo sent at home, only realising that you were in the car when the photo was taken! No person likes staying in a vehicle unnecessarily, and as such the stoppage is more often than not a brief stop. But you still have to pay up.

Two camera locations that come to mind are those on the Regional Road and at St Paul’s Bay, where the driver is forced to drive at a ridiculous speed otherwise he gets snapped!

A person who has either found a contravention notice on his windscreen, or receives one through the post, and knows only too well that he/she should not pay the it, cannot defend himself/herself by means of a letter. It is expected that either the person or a proxy be present at the tribunal to defend him/herself.

This should be changed immediately, and the driver given a more comfortable way of defending him/herself. At present, the driver has to make the time which, more often than not, is very difficult to do. The driver should be given the possibility to air his/her grievance, and expect that his/her letter of defence be given the proper attention. Like myself, when someone has no time to go attend the tribunal, he/she ends up paying whether or not he or she is right. If one decides not to pay, then, the renewal of the car licence becomes impossible. More often than not, either right or wrong, you end up paying.

I am fully aware that there should be law and order, and possibly like many a driver, I have received contravention notices which have been voluntarily paid. However, and as mentioned some time ago in a letter, we are on the way to becoming a police state.

David Demajo

Sliema