Finding parking should be classed as an Olympic event owing to the difficultry involved especially when it involves 'free' parking.
What about when you’ve just done two laps of the area and just when you find one that is free, somebody shady-looking is waving you into an that empty space, like a batsman on the deck of an aircraft carrier?
Legally, you don’t have to give him anything – any money paid over is a tip. You might find your car on bricks when you return to it, if you tell him to sod off, but that’s another matter.
But, there is something even more annoying and that is finding a pedestrian standing in the parking spot, reserving it for somebody else. The question is, can he legally do that?
Well, I’m glad you asked because I have had to look it up! According to the Ley de Tráfico y Seguridad Vial, a pedestrian is only allowed to be on a road if he is crossing it or in order to get into a vehicle. Apart from that, a person should not be loitering on a road.
So, no, you can’t stand in one of the lanes, reserving a space for a friend because you could be facing an 80-euros fine – although it is unlikely.
However, if you’re in an area reserved for parking (in line or parallel) running beside a traffic lane, you can do so as long as you are only attempting to reserve one space; i.e., you cant reserve a row of parking spaces, even if your appearance does make dogs faint and young women bark.
However, it’s a moot point because you won’t find any bloody parking come the summer anyway, right?
(News: Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)
Paul: Almuñécar has already nipped that in the bud because you have to punch in your numberplate when you purchase a parking ticket…
The problem with beggars ‘helping’ you to find a parking spot can be very intimidating and should be stopped by the police.
Another potential problem, that few people are aware of, is that it is generally illegal to pass a ticket with unused time to another motorist. In the UK people have been successfully prosecuted for using such a ticket. The parking contract is considered as a bilateral contract between the parking company and the first parker and often explicitly mentioned in the small print on a board that this is so and this parker cannot ‘subcontract’ even for free to a 3rd party. So be aware that a good Samaritan could land you in trouble!