Is it legal for parking wardens to mark car tyres with chalk?

Forums › Off topic › Is it legal for parking wardens to mark car tyres with chalk?

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#2223229 24-Apr-2019 15:34

I was in a hairdressers in ... umm ... 'a northern Wellington suburb' when she spotted a warden chalking tyres in the parking area outside. She got her apprentice to check which direction the warden was going and waited a few minutes, then the apprentice was sent out with a squirty bottle and a cloth, with orders to wipe off all the chalk marks within ten parking spots of her shop.

Guerrilla warfare

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wellygary

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#2223235 24-Apr-2019 15:45

PolicyGuy:

I was in a hairdressers in ... umm ... 'a northern Wellington suburb' when she spotted a warden chalking tyres in the parking area outside. She got her apprentice to check which direction the warden was going and waited a few minutes, then the apprentice was sent out with a squirty bottle and a cloth, with orders to wipe off all the chalk marks within ten parking spots of her shop.

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Highly likely that at least one of the cars belonged to staff of either her store or those nearby :)

in the CBD they now have parking sensors in the ground to detect when vehicles arrive and depart, so there is no need to chalk....

Then there is this guy who remotely moves his Tesla between two parks out the front of his building

frednz

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#2223294 24-Apr-2019 16:40

wellygary:

PolicyGuy:

I was in a hairdressers in ... umm ... 'a northern Wellington suburb' when she spotted a warden chalking tyres in the parking area outside. She got her apprentice to check which direction the warden was going and waited a few minutes, then the apprentice was sent out with a squirty bottle and a cloth, with orders to wipe off all the chalk marks within ten parking spots of her shop.

Guerrilla warfare

Highly likely that at least one of the cars belonged to staff of either her store or those nearby :)

in the CBD they now have parking sensors in the ground to detect when vehicles arrive and depart, so there is no need to chalk....

Then there is this guy who remotely moves his Tesla between two parks out the front of his building

I still see some traffic wardens chalking tyres, but the other day I noticed a warden was taking photographs of parked cars with a small digital camera. This would provide better evidence than chalking tyres, because whenever people see chalk marks on their tyres, they can simply rub them off! Whether or not it's Council policy to have wardens photograph cars I don't know, but I guess it's not illegal to do this because anyone can photograph your car when it's in a public place!

scuwp

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#2223297 24-Apr-2019 16:50

They are not causing, or likely to cause any damage or loss = no offence committed
You agreed to the terms and conditions by using the car park
If the chalk lasts more that 10 seconds I would be very surprised
Mountain/molehill

Many councils are now moving to ANPR technology, so no need for meters or chalk anymore.

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vexxxboy

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#2223328 24-Apr-2019 19:02

Rotorua has gone sneaky, they now have a car that drives round identifying cars with no regos and WOF's through number plates and also if you have been parked for to long , suffice to say people are not happy.

Common sense is not as common as you think.

Azzura

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#2223330 24-Apr-2019 19:21

vexxxboy:

Rotorua has gone sneaky, they now have a car that drives round identifying cars with no regos and WOF's through number plates and also if you have been parked for to long , suffice to say people are not happy.

Hmmm but what if the owner actually drove around the block and ended up in the same parking spot? In the time-frame between council car does the checking...

dafman

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#2223338 24-Apr-2019 19:35

If chalking tyres is still a thing when I retire, for a bit of light entertainment to break up the week, I'll happily occasionally follow a warden armed with damp sponge ... and I'd be one car behind them so they'd know.

scuwp

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#2223354 24-Apr-2019 20:14

Azzura:

vexxxboy:

Rotorua has gone sneaky, they now have a car that drives round identifying cars with no regos and WOF's through number plates and also if you have been parked for to long , suffice to say people are not happy.

Hmmm but what if the owner actually drove around the block and ended up in the same parking spot? In the time-frame between council car does the checking...

You could always get a WOF and Rego for your car, then you don't have any worries. Why is this "sneaky"? Simply enforcing the rules.

I don't know about Rotorua but Tauranga uses zones, provided you park back in the same zone then your parking fee remains valid. It works really well.

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Bung

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#2223356 24-Apr-2019 20:17

Azzura:
vexxxboy:

Rotorua has gone sneaky, they now have a car that drives round identifying cars with no regos and WOF's through number plates and also if you have been parked for to long , suffice to say people are not happy.

Hmmm but what if the owner actually drove around the block and ended up in the same parking spot? In the time-frame between council car does the checking...

Wellington had a car like that. It was so successful that the Council found it politically expedient to get rid of it.

Most maximum parking time bylaws require you to leave that zone for an equivalent time rather than shuttle back an forth between parking spaces or feed the same meter.

Jase2985

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#2223377 24-Apr-2019 20:38

Azzura:

Hmmm but what if the owner actually drove around the block and ended up in the same parking spot? In the time-frame between council car does the checking...

what if you did that with chalk on your tyre....

MadEngineer

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#2223401 24-Apr-2019 21:13

The shenanigans mentioned above would make for some entertaining YouTube videos.

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vexxxboy

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#2223416 24-Apr-2019 21:37

Azzura:

vexxxboy:

Rotorua has gone sneaky, they now have a car that drives round identifying cars with no regos and WOF's through number plates and also if you have been parked for to long , suffice to say people are not happy.

Hmmm but what if the owner actually drove around the block and ended up in the same parking spot? In the time-frame between council car does the checking...

the time is on the car , once you pay for say an hour parking then you can park anywhere in the central city until your hour is up then it doesnt matter where you park unless you feed in more money or swipe you card you will get a ticket.

Common sense is not as common as you think.

Lias

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#2224510 25-Apr-2019 11:36

US law rather than NZ, and ties into the US constitution and it's 4th amendment (unreasonable search and seizure), but topical and potentially still relevant as I understand that the US is still a Common Law based legal system so it's precedents can be relevant under some circumstances.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/chalking-tires-enforce-parking-rules-unconstitutional-court-finds-n997326

My TLDR not a lawyer version: US court of appeals rules that parking wardens marking cars with is a form of "search and seizure", and it's effectively a warrantless search and because parking violations are not a public safety issue there can be no reasonable grounds for the "search", thus the parking warden is trespassing.

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Kyanar

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#2225553 26-Apr-2019 14:17

Lias:

US law rather than NZ, and ties into the US constitution and it's 4th amendment (unreasonable search and seizure), but topical and potentially still relevant as I understand that the US is still a Common Law based legal system so it's precedents can be relevant under some circumstances.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/chalking-tires-enforce-parking-rules-unconstitutional-court-finds-n997326

Already covered by BDFL in the last page.

nunz

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#2225840 26-Apr-2019 21:06

Azzura:

vexxxboy:

Rotorua has gone sneaky, they now have a car that drives round identifying cars with no regos and WOF's through number plates and also if you have been parked for to long , suffice to say people are not happy.

Hmmm but what if the owner actually drove around the block and ended up in the same parking spot? In the time-frame between council car does the checking...

I got caught in a similar way. Warden chalked car. Left. I moved car to a new car park. warden came back later and ticketed me. I hadn't moved far enough as evidenced by the fact the chalk mark hadn't worn off the tyre.

Ironically the warden was warden #69. Universally hated. Another time I saw him ticketing cars ahead of mine, hopped in my car and started to drive off .He stepped in front of my car in the middle of the road. i had to make a concerted effort of will to put foot on brake and not on accelerator. He then ticketed me. Told him to cram it and refused to pay as he ticketed a moving vehicle. He also couldn't prove i had been their too long and actually hadnt as I had gone on a short job between chalk and ticket.

Chch had no parking buildings within 2 km of work, and I needed to see clients. It was a no win situation not improved by officious little knobs like warden 69. Most times if I was in the wrong I paid without complaint. The cost of working.

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