Focus on our schools, Pippa

She goes by the name of Pippa.
Since arriving on a sunny day in June, I know there are some of you who have already encountered her, and felt her wrath.

She is the council’s latest experiment – Thurrock’s first CCTV spy car. Pippa stands for Park It Properly, Prevent Accidents, which sounds fair enough to me. These cars are useful, no doubt about that, if they are used correctly.

The thing that gets up so many people’s noses is when they are seen to be sneaky. When they are parked up, just around a corner, as people quickly drop a loved one off at the station.

They should be focused elsewhere, as Thurrock Council rightly states, on nabbing those who cause problems by parking dangerously near schools, particularly during the school runs.

The council was quick to say Pippa’s main focus was the schools of the borough. Great. However, the latest stats don’t quite back that up. Out of the 1,199 fines dished out in Pippa’s first four months on the road, she has struck outside schools on just 153 occasions. It doesn’t seem a high enough percentage to me.
When her trial period ends just before Christmas, the council needs to address this and make sure she’s behaving how she should

If she is, I see no reason why she shouldn’t continue to patrol our streets long into the future – helping our children get to school safely and hitting those who are thoughtless and careless where it hurts...in their pockets.

Tweet me @garypearson13

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