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One stranded driver tells
his story

by Luke Hollands

The decision to make snow-bound motorists pay to get their
abandoned cars back has sparked a fierce debate on this site.

We've had lots of comments after drivers who left their cars on
the A229 Blue Bell Hill in a blizzard are being stung by a charge
of £150 plus an extra £20 for every day it was stored.

But not everyone is against the fees. Dozens of people are
backing the decision to make drivers pay a recovery fee after
Kent
Police had to contract a company to remove the
vehicles.

One driver who was stuck in traffic has
attacked those who abandoned their cars: "I spent five hours
getting up Blue Bell Hill in the snow on Wednesday night.

"The delay was mainly caused by idiots who can't drive and
decided to abandon their cars causing obstruction to others trying
to get past. I think people should take responsibility for there
own actions."

Another writes: "If you leave your vehicle parked on a public
highway where you’re not supposed to park, what do you expect to
happen?

"Perhaps if people had been a bit more pro active and contacted
their respective breakdown companies or made other efforts to get
the vehicle moved or even let the police know what was going on,
perhaps the vehicles would have been removed more cheaply without
incurring extra storage charges."

Another contributor has called for people to take more
responsibility: "I am really sick of the attitude that says it is
always someone else's responsibility, someone else should take the
blame and someone else should pay. It's time we took responsibility
for our own actions."

But some of you are outraged by the charges. Rob Taylor writes:
"If the council had done their job in the first place and gritted
the roads before the arrival of the anticpated snow, then the roads
would have been clear. To fine people for KCC's cock up is just
rubbing salt in the wounds."

Another reader adds: "Would you expect older members of the
public, mums and dads with young children or babies to sit freezing
in their cars waiting for recovery, or waiting for another car to
crash into them? Or even better, waiting for police to move
them?"

The move angered kmfm presenter Rob Wills so much he's launched
a
Facebook campaign to get all the charges waived. The
page had 1,745 fans on Tuesday afternoon.

Many people have posted messages of both anger and support or
the move on the group's wall.

In a statement, Kent Police said:
"The storage fees for those days when vehicles were held without
the Registered Keepers’ knowledge will be waived, although the
owners will be liable for the initial recovery cost and any ongoing
storage costs after the Registered Keeper has been informed.

"It is always our intention to notify vehicle owners as soon as
possible when we arrange recovery, but this was delayed in this
instance due to the high volume of work being dealt with by the
police over the last couple of days. We apologise to those drivers
whom we did not manage to contact sooner."

~ Go to Rob Wills' Facebook campaign page
>>>

Tune into Rob Wills’ drivetime show on kmfm 3-7pm
weekdays.

• Let us know what you think, should drivers be charged? Or did you have your car recovered on Wednesday night? Join the debate below...