It was only a delay of 15 minutes but it was a delay which made it onto the BBC local news as a result of just how it was solved. On Thursday 20th November a tram running a service from Station Street to Phoenix Park was brought to a halt outside Nottingham Trent University as a car was parked blocking the tracks.
Despite the tram driver using his horn to alert the driver of the car that they were blocking the route ahead there was still no sign of the vehicle being moved after 15 minutes. This is when onlookers decided to take matters into their own hands and a group decided to push the Mini out of the way, to much cheering from the rest of the crowd that had rapidly developed. With the car out of the way the tram managed to continue its journey to Phoenix Park with only a 15 minute delay to speak of.
The Mini had been parked half on the road and half on the pavement and was blocking the tramway and it was reported that the driver of the car had been in a local coffee shop unaware of the chaos which she had caused! On returning to her car she was given a fixed penalty notice and it was reported she said “I’m not from Nottingham”!
I was on a tram in Brussels one evening in 1968 when the tram encountered a car parked on the track. The driver immediately asked the passengers to help him bump the car off the track, we all got out and did it in a minute and the tram went on its way. No 15 minute delay!
Driver’s excuse was “I’m not from Nottingham”. But surely where ever she came from they have double yellow lines just like the ones she parked on in Nottingham….!
just another sign of the times.We are breeding a nation of lazy,selfish and impatient people.You see it everday at supermarkets where people who park as close as they can to the entrance when there are 500 parking spaces.But of course that means they have to walk a few yards.On the local newspaper website someone must of done a check on the national data base and said the car had no insurance.
You are aware of the new Highway Code, Tram Man. The bit that explains that double yellow lines, 2 parallel lines means that the ‘rule of two’s’ applies, namely you are allowed to park as long as you have 2 wheels on the road and 2 blocking the footpath? I’ve not seen this particular edition, but it must exist judging by the number of drivers who obey it! You are quite right, saving a walk of a few yards is far more important than obeying the rules in the eyes of many people today, no matter how big a problem their selfishness causes for others.
Ken, it’s right next to the section that says that cars displaying a blue and white propeller or 4 interlocked rings on the bonnet are exempt from all rules…
Yes you are right Ken,there must be a new edition of the highway code.Which also includes allowing to park anywhere,so long as you put your hazard lights on.