A group on Facebook erupted with anger after a police vehicle was spotted parked in a disabled bay.
When seconds can mean the difference between life and death, emergency vehicles have the legal right to park wherever they need to when responding to emergency calls.
However, for one member of the ‘Runnymede Beat (Surrey Police) The Original Addlestone Chat’, the life-saving service provided by the emergency services should not take priority over parking restrictions.
In a post shared in the group, the angry resident said:
‘My recently registered disabled husband has just had to park up and walk a fair distance due to this police car parked in the disabled bay!!
‘So unless the officer just happened to forget to display his badge then SHAME ON YOU!!
‘If hubby was parked there without a blue badge, you would soon as heck moved him on!!.
‘And NO there was no sign of an officer in any of the takeaways along Addlestone high street!!
‘Disgusted Surrey Police!! Explanation please…and make it a good one (angry face emoji)’.
Seeming oblivious to the life-saving service provided by Surrey Police, other members of the group were quick to offer emotional support to the person who posted the rant.
One resident proclaimed:
‘They are the police…..They can park anywhere they want.’
Another added:
‘Good luck with that. It’s a case of do as I say and not as I do!’
The angry person who posted the rant replied by saying: “Oh, it’s ok…They were ‘responding to an emergency’!!!! (rolling eye emoji)’.
Comment
When a member of the emergency services is responding to an emergency call for help – where vital seconds can mean the difference between life or death – then they do not have the time to search for a parking spot.
Often, we hear about individuals who have complained about the time it has taken for the emergency services to get to an emergency.
In truth, the sort of people who complain about where emergency vehicles have been parked would also be the first to complain if they called 999 if, for example, an armed masked intruder broke into their home and, when explaining why there was a delay in arriving, a police officer said that they had to find a parking space before running into danger.
Emergency vehicles are, for a good reason, exempt from parking restrictions for the simple fact that their ability to save someone’s life is more important than your parking needs.
Can you help Emergency Services News?
Our mission is simple: To share fact-based stories about the emergency services and the life-saving work they do daily. Each member of our team has served in either the armed forces or emergency services.
We use our frontline experiences to help inform the general public about the realities of serving in the emergency services, armed forces and NHS.
But with ad income declining – owing to the pandemic – we need the help of our readers and supporters so that we can keep bringing you fact-based stories which are free from the ‘anti’ narrative which is often projected by some sections of the mainstream media.
You can help us by making a one-off or reoccurring donation via Paypal. CLICK HERE to become a donor
We would like to thank you in advance for your continued support.
BEFORE YOU GO – we have negotiated a fantastic deal from our partners at ‘Blue Light Insurance’ (see below) exclusively for Emergency Services News readers – limited time only.
Before you go...
We need your help. As former emergency services & armed forces personnel, we pride ourselves on bringing you important, fast-moving and breaking news stories which are free from the negative bias which is often directed at the emergency services by some sections of the mainstream media.
One of the reasons we started 'Emergency Services News' was because we became tired of reading badly informed stories about the emergency services which seemed only ever to highlight negative aspects of the job.
We want to be the unheard voice of the remarkable men and women who serve in the emergency services, NHS and armed forces. And with around 500k page views each month, we are getting there!
As income from ads, the mainstay source of income for most publishers, continues to decline; we need the help of our readers.
And remember, if you have a service, product or job vacancy that you would like to promote to our large readership, then you can buy advertising space in our articles.
You can support emergency services news from as little as £1. It only takes a minute. Every contribution, however big or small, is vital for our future.
Please help us to continue to highlight the life-saving work of the emergency services, NHS and armed forces by becoming a supporter.
