Don’t Stand

How many times have you been stuck in traffic where a four-lane road has been reduced to two because drivers stop their cars at each side of the road for long periods of time waiting to pick up passengers?  More often than not, these areas are marked with No Parking signs.  Since the drivers didn’t abandon their vehicles, they could not be tagged for any violation nor could they be asked to move away.  And these incidents usually happen during rush hour.

The reason we have to grin and bear this scenario is the absence of a very important traffic law which we do not implement.  Forget changing traffic signs from No Parking to No Stopping to prevent them from doing this as this will only create furore especially if this is located in front of educational institutions.  The right law we should adopt is the No Standing law.

What is a No Standing law?  To understand what the law is, let us first define what standing is:  In the legal codes of New York City, standing is: “(1) The stopping of a vehicle, (2) whether occupied or not, (3) otherwise than temporarily for the purpose of and while actually engaged in receiving or discharging passengers.”  (Section 4-01 of Chapter 4 of Title 34 of the Rules of the City of New York)

Any act of staying stationary longer to wait for the arrival of your passenger, or switching on your hazard lights to stay for a longer period of time (maybe because your passenger ran to the convenience store to grab something) is considered standing.  So by logic, No Standing means no person shall operate a vehicle in a manner which obstructs traffic in lanes specifically designated for the movement of traffic.

Placing No Standing zones in areas with high traffic volume would greatly decrease traffic congestion as this will free up the outermost lanes.  It will also keep the passengers fit as they have to learn to embark and disembark from their vehicles at lightning speed.  And this would greatly improve punctuality as both driver and passenger would have to be on time to meet each other or risk getting cited for a traffic violation.

For the benefit of all the traffic boards in the Province, it would only be logical to put up a No Standing sign together with a No Parking sign.  Even if one is to argue that a No Standing sign supersedes a No Parking sign in terms of definition and regulation, the ineptitude and inability of the personnel traffic boards employ as traffic enforcers to explain this to an idiot with a driver’s license automatically requires the placement of both signs.

If you only put up a No Standing sign, a driver could abandon their vehicle and argue with a traffic enforcer that by doing so, they’re not standing because they’re parked.  And because enforcers can’t even figure out the basic counterflow law, arguing about something slightly complicated would cause their logic circuits to shut down.  Thus, rendering them even more useless than they already are.

No Standing zones are especially useful in the following areas:  in four-lane roads with narrow shoulders, along two-lane roads, and in roadways where buildings were somehow given permits to put up multi-storey structures despite the obvious lack of required parking space or the total absence of such.

Adopting the No Standing law would greatly ease traffic congestion in the metropolis.  Even if drivers will still stop for a moment to allow ingress or egress of passengers, a slow moving lane is much better than a totally condemned lane.  So, let us encourage everyone to stop standing and move along.

And if you beg to disagree regarding my view on traffic enforcers, check out next week’s article.  I’ll be dedicating it entirely to them. @backseatdrivph