This is something that many drivers would relate with.

A driver parks his car, not realising that he has left it in an area covered by the need to indicate the time on the windscreen clock. Upon leaving the vehicle, he notices a warden nearby. The warden has seen the driver park the car.

The driver goes into a shop to buy something. It takes him less than 10 minutes. Returning to the vehicle, he notices a parking ticket. The warden is still nearby, a smirk on his face. “Caught you” is written all over the warden’s face.

This is another story that many drivers would relate with - wardens hiding behind a tree, or crouching behind a vehicle, in the hope that they notice some driver not following regulations. When they do, they pounce out of their hideout, ready with their machine to give the ticket.

And then we are told that the wardens’ first rule is to educate.

No, it’s not, for many of them. The rule that they follow is to dish out tickets. They act like that child at school who is always at the ready to tell-tale on their friends who misbehave. Yes, unfortunately, what many wardens do is childish. They know they have some power, and they mis-use it.

The more ironic among us will say that the wardens have the mission to recuperate at least part of the funds that the government is giving in hand-outs – the tax refunds and now the extra €100, which looks more like a pre-election gift like anything else.

The wardens are making sure that some of it is returned.

And no amount of arguing will make them change their mind. “We’re doing our job,” they say. No, you’re not, if you see drivers park their car in an area with a time limit and, instead of telling them to arrange their clock, hope that they forget doing so and then be ready with that hand-held machine to issue a ticket.

Something else – they should be given some training on how to control traffic. If they are already being given such training, then it is evident that they are either not applying what they learn or what they are learning is not appropriate.

How many times have we come across situations when wardens are needed to manage the flow when a cherry-picker or some other machinery is blocking a road – and, on most occasions, they end up creating more confusion than order? Or else, instead of doing their duty, they play with their phone while the number of frustrated drivers accumulates at both ends? Yet, their presence is required, and people pay for their services.

Yes, we need more discipline on our roads. And, yes, we need to be more orderly in the way cars are parked. And we also need more signs when there is a time limit for parking. Sometimes, they are too far apart and drivers parking in between do not realise that they have parked in a time-limit zone and should therefore arrange their clock.

We also need common sense from people who are employed to maintain that order. We need wardens to educate too, and not simply hide in the bushes ready to pounce on their unfortunate victims.