Tough time to be a motorist

Dundeewest MSP Joe Fitzpatrick wants to get tough on problem parkers.

A bill brought before the Scottish Parliament yesterday would ban parking on pavements, double parking and parking in front of lowered kerbs throughout Scotland.

There would be a few exceptions, and local authorities could make further exemptions.

More than a dozen charities, from Guide Dogs for the Blind to Inclusion Scotland, have supported the draft legislation.

There is little doubt problem parkers are a menace. They cause a nuisance for the able bodied and an actual danger to the disabled, the elderly, mothers with prams, and the blind, who can be forced onto the road.

People who double park, meanwhile, can block vital access to emergency vehicles.

In trying to ban parking on pavements, parking in front of lowered kerbs and double parking at a stroke, Mr Fitzpatrick may be trying to do too much at once.

There’s also the question of criminalising the many to address the selfish actions of the few.

Does the driver who parks on the kerb at the end of their cul-de-sac to leave room for others to turn deserve to be put in the same category as the person who double parks on a busy thoroughfare to nip in for a packet of cigarettes?

And — as many argued when the SNP presented its anti-bigotry bill — existing legislation may be sufficient, if properly enforced. It is not illegal to park on the pavement. However, if a vehicle is causing an obstruction the law allows authorities to have it towed away.

With petrol prices reaching a record £1.40 a litre, motorists are already under the cosh.

There must be a limit to how much more they can take.