PHOTOS: Unusual ways of parking annoys UAE residents

Dubai - An inspector in Dubai said they catch the highest numbers of violations at the traditional markets in Al Nayef area or old Dubai.

If you are a UAE resident, you would relate to the pain of finding a proper parking spot, or worse, dealing with other people's unusual or annoying ways of parking.

A picture posted by a Facebook user of his car parked underneath another car in Dubai two weeks ago hit a soft spot for many who struggle with local parking woes.

It happens so often that you fail to even notice it, according to Dubai resident Alex K. "There is not once that I don't see someone who has parked out of order, and sometimes I see it happen in front of me," said Alex. "I stopped paying much attention to it since it happens so often!"

The Jumeirah resident recalled seeing a car parked in the opposite direction of the lines allocated in an angle parking, and thus, taking up two spaces. "Such behaviour is very annoying and self-centred, and shows that the driver does not care about others," said Alex, adding that the key lies in educating drivers on simple road ethics and manners.

Abu Dhabi resident Mohammed Tariq Anis said, "There's nothing awfully unusual about careless parking." He said the most common parking issue is 'double parking', which translates into "an awkward 95 degree park that just ruins things for the neighbour and quite possibly a train of others."

Another problem is parallel parking that simply isn't done well, thus blocking or hindering cars trying to go through the alley.

But according to Anis, the fines imposed by MAWAQIF (Abu Dhabi's parking management service) for wrong parking is relatively high, so residents try to avoid bad parking.

For Sherif Maher, a Sharjah resident, high fines is the way to go. "If drivers get their car impounded for wrong habits and are heavily fine, they'd stop parking improperly," he said.

Maher recalled two occasions when he got delayed for work because someone blocked his car, without leaving personal contacts on their windshield. "Working in Dubai requires me to leave early to skip the traffic, but when someone does that, you are forced to call the police.

"It becomes a disaster if you have to leave for emergency," he added.

Ahmed Abu Zaid, another Sharjah resident, said improper parking could pose a danger to people's lives. "Once I had a health problem for which I needed to go to the hospital urgently, but there was a car parked behind mine, and no contact number for the driver in sight. I had to call an ambulance to take me."

Zaid added that such "second row" parking dominates certain neighbourhoods when people come back from work late at night, and leave their cars anywhere until the morning.

Another prevalent problem, is when people park on the sides of a two-way road. "You don't only struggle searching for a parking, but you're struggling to even drive. And people are smart, they dodge fines by violating rules when inspectors are not around," Zaid said.

What parking inspectors say

A parking inspector in Sharjah, said on anonymity that the most common wrong parking habit he encounters is parking on the white line, in the middle of the road, that separates two rows of angle parking slots.

Another common driver habit is stopping the car in a second row behind other drivers, to go to a restaurant or coffeeshop. "There are people who find empty spaces, but they don't want to park in distant places, so they choose to park wrongly by stopping their car in a parallel second row, blocking other drivers," the inspector said.

With fines mostly issued in residential areas around souqs, Al Majaz or Jamal Abdul Nasser street, the inspector said such mistakes could be avoided. "Take your time searching for a parking spot, and follow the rules. It is better to leave your car in a distant spot and walk the distance to avoid fines, instead of hindering others and getting fined for it."

The inspector added people ought to pay their parking ticket, which is just Dh2 in Sharjah, even if they're parking for a short period of time, to avoid fines.

Another inspector in Sharjah said they see repetitive parking patterns, causing inspectors to go home with a book full of fines. "The same mistakes are repeated due to the low rates of fines. If fines were higher, people will park legally even if far away."

Cars parked in a "half-in, half-out" manner, with half the car on the pavement and the other half hanging on the road, is one of the most common mistakes in residential areas that blocks the road and hinders other drivers.

An inspector in Dubai said they catch the highest numbers of violations at the traditional markets in Al Nayef area or old Dubai. "In crammed areas, people park on pavements or leave their cars in the middle of the road, which hinders others further."

sherouk@khaleejtimes.com

• UAE
• UAE
• Dubai
• Sharjah
• Abu Dhabi