Clamped drivers left blowing in the wind

A change in the design of Dublin City Council's parking tickets has resulted in a number of motorists who have paid their parking fees returning to find their cars have been clamped.

The change relates to the decision by the council to discontinue the practice of putting sticky glue on the backs of tickets. In the past the glue facilitated motorists sticking the tickets to the windscreen or side window of their vehicle.

Unfortunately, in certain weather conditions, the car windows could become condensed after the motorist fixed the ticket to the glass causing the ticket to fall off.

The result was a number of complaints to the appeals officer in Dublin Street Parking Services - the company contracted to run the system - that tickets had fallen off the glass and those who had complied with the requirements had been clamped.

And the city council's response? Dublin City Council determined there was indeed an issue with the glue.

They claimed the glue didn't work so they removed it entirely. However, a new problem has arisen. The new tickets bear the instruction that tickets be placed face-up on the dashboard. Indeed the legal requirement is that the paid ticket must be visible.

The snag is, as anyone who has parked a car on a windy day will attest, that vehicles are a bit of a wind sock when it comes to closing the door.

Even in the calmest of conditions the simple act of banging the door may cause a gust of wind to reverberate around the vehicle.

And reverberating gusts of wind are prone to flip flimsy pieces of paper, especially those resting high on the dashboard.

Now the city council is to report to the next meeting of its strategic policy committee on transport about the number of complaints they have received from motorists who have left the delicate slip of paper on the dashboard and returned to find the dreaded metal teeth chopping at their wheels.

The regulations require that - even in those circumstances where the motorist can demonstrate to the clampers that the fee is paid - that the €80 declamping fee is paid.

There is an appeal process which handles complaints but as the city council points out, it is up to each individual motorist to ensure that the parking ticket is visible. A spokesman for the city council said the strategic policy committee will discuss the issue at its April meeting, and any changes deemed necessary will be made then.