If I were the Prime Minister of T&T I would…………

Fix the Illegal Parking Problem

BY JACK AUSTIN WARNER PhD

If I were the Prime Minis­ter of Trini­dad and Tobago, I would make one decisive change to how we deal with parking of­fences: I would end the routine issuance of park­ing tickets and replace it with a clear, consistent policy of towing vehicles that are badly and illegally parked.

Not selectively, not spo­radically, and not only in high-profile areas, but as a national standard, applied evenly and predictably.
The current system does not work. Parking tickets have become an administra­tive ritual rather than an ef­fective deterrent.
Drivers who park illegally receive tickets that may or may not be paid, challenge them in court, or ignore them entirely, and the cycle continues.
Roads remain blocked, traffic worsens, police time is wasted, and public frus­tration grows. Towing, by contrast, is immediate, vis­ible, and consequential, and that is precisely why it works.
The first major advantage of a towing-first approach is the potential for judicial re­lief. Our courts are clogged with minor traffic matters, including disputes over parking tickets. Many of these cases hinge on techni­calities, unclear signage, or disputes over enforcement.
When a vehicle is towed, the issue is no longer a drawn-out contest over a piece of paper. The offence is resolved administratively. Vehicles are retrieved upon payment of a clearly defined fee, and only serious dis­putes proceed further. This alone would significantly reduce the burden on mag­istrates and court staff.
Second, towing removes ambiguity in enforcement and payment. With parking tickets, errors are common: missed deadlines, unpaid fines, inconsistent penalties, and backlogs in processing.
Towing creates a single, transparent process. If your vehicle is illegally parked, it will be removed. If you want it back, you pay the prescribed fee.
There is no confusion, no delayed enforcement, and no accumulation of unpaid penalties that eventually be­come unenforceable.
Third, towing changes behaviour. Tickets have become a calculated risk. Many drivers knowingly park illegally, assuming that the worst outcome is a fine they may never pay.
Towing eliminates that calculation. The inconve­nience of retrieving a ve­hicle, the time lost, and the immediate financial cost create a strong deterrent.
When drivers know their vehicle will be removed, not tick­eted, they would think twice. Over time, illegal parking declines, not be­cause of fear, but because expectations are reset.
Fourth, the benefits to traffic flow are immediate and measurable. Illegally parked vehicles choke ma­jor arteries, narrow already tight roadways, obstruct pavements and pedestrian crossings, and slow emer­gency response.
Towing clears lanes in real time. It allows smoother transitions along the na­tion’s roads, reduces con­gestion hotspots, and im­proves safety for drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists alike.
In urban centres, especial­ly, the difference between ticketing and towing is the difference between stagna­tion and movement.
Fifth, towing improves officer safety and efficiency. Writing tickets places police officers in vulnerable posi­tions; standing in traffic, engaging with hostile driv­ers, or returning to vehicles where tempers have flared.
When towing is the stan­dard, the enforcement ac­tion is swift and procedural. Officers supervise removal rather than debate offences. This reduces confrontation, shortens interaction time, and lowers the risk of esca­lation with “John Public.”
Beyond these immediate advantages, towing creates secondary benefits that a ticket-based system cannot. Vehicles that are towed can be systematically checked for other traffic-related is­sues: expired insurance, un­paid licences, unsafe modi­fications, or outstanding warrants.
Offences can then be ad­dressed appropriately, either through charges or warn­ings. This improves overall compliance across the traf­fic ecosystem, not just park­ing.
There are also economic benefits. A structured tow­ing system generates reli­able revenue that can be reinvested into road main­tenance, traffic management infrastructure, and public transport improvements.
Unlike ticket revenue, which is often delayed, con­tested, or uncollected, tow­ing fees are immediate and predictable.
Additionally, regulated towing services create em­ployment: drivers, mechan­ics, administrative staff, and storage facility workers.
With proper oversight, this can become a profes­sional, accountable sector rather than a fragmented or ad hoc operation.
Critically, towing pro­motes fairness. A well-de­signed system does not dis­criminate between vehicles, drivers, or neighbourhoods.
The rules are clear, sig­nage is unambiguous, and enforcement is consistent. This reduces accusations of selective policing and re­stores public confidence in traffic management.
When everyone knows the consequence and sees it ap­plied uniformly, compliance becomes the norm.
Of course, towing must be implemented responsibly. Clear signage, public edu­cation, reasonable grace pe­riods in non-critical areas, and transparent fee struc­tures are essential.
There must be accessible appeal mechanisms for genuine errors. But these safeguards strengthen the system; they do not weaken the case for towing.
Ultimately, parking en­forcement is not about punishment. It is about or­der, safety, and respect for shared space.
Roads are public assets, not personal storage areas. When vehicles are allowed to obstruct our roads with minimal consequence, ev­eryone pays in time, frustra­tion, and risk.
If I were the Prime Min­ister, I would choose the policy that works. Towing does not merely penalize bad parking; it prevents it.
It clears roads, eases the courts, protects officers, changes behaviour, creates jobs, and restores discipline to our transport system. In a country struggling with congestion, enforcement fatigue, and institutional overload, this is not a radi­cal idea. It is a practical one.