FAQ

Q: What is SelfishParker.com?

A: As the name suggests, Selfish Parker is a site dedicated to embarrassing inconsiderate parkers.

Q: Why was SelfishParker.com created?
A: Living in any city, but especially London, parking spaces are a rare commodity, and nothing drives us madder (excuse the pun) than when we see selfish parkers parked in a way that stops someone else getting a space. Owning a car in a city can be a great help, but it can also be a massive stress, especially when trying to park and so we hope this site will make people just be that little bit more aware of not being a selfish parker.

Q: What constitutes a selfish parker?
A: We are sure most people could guess what a selfish parker is, and probably have a few examples of their own that they have witnessed, but for now, here are some examples:
– A parker who intentionally parks selfishly across more than one bay – i.e. they want more space than the line gives them.
– A Parker who just stops in a long parking bay (normally on the side of a residential street) not considering how close they are to the line/another car and end up making half a space useless and thus stopping another car getting in the parking bay.
– A parker who stops on the side of a road causing other drivers to have to stop, slow down and change their direction and navigate around the parked car.
– A parker who just swings into a parking space meaning the space directly next to them is smaller and their car is at an angle thus making it difficult for the car next door to turn out from an impaired viewing position.
– A parker who parks in areas where they know they shouldn’t. Such as a Disabled Bay (with no disabled badge), a Parent and Child bay (with no child), a Cycle lane, a Bus stop, in front of a dropped kerb, Over lines (yellow, red, or white), or obstructing a road.

– A parker who parks on the pavement and forces pedestrians to walk in the road – worse for those with buggies or on mobility scooters etc. Those who park on the pavement next to a double yellow line are worst thinking they will not get fined.

Q: What do we want SelfishParker.com to do?
A: Well, simply to stop selfish parking. However, there will always be selfish parkers out there, some of whom may even park badly on purpose, but who knows, maybe after seeing their own car on this site they may get a flash of embarrassment and pay a little more attention the next time they park.

Q: Is it OK to post a number plate online?
A: It is not deemed illegal as the car and number plate can already be seen in a public domain. However, we recommend that no person/people to be in the photograph (especially if you are attaching not very nice language to the post) and that you only post images where the parker has visibly parked selfishly or poorly(hence your photo proves the selfish action) – i.e. not just because you don’t like the person! We retain the right to remove any images we deem to be unfit for purpose.

There is no legal precedent that prevents you from posting pictures online of registration plates as long as the information linked to them is factually correct and, ideally, date stamped. This prevents the association of an incident with just a number plate, and rather instead with a particular event.

Q; What does www.selfishparker.com recommend?
A: We do not want to see any comments or imagery that is discriminatory, obscene, pornographic, defamatory, liable to incite racial hatred, in breach of confidentiality or privacy, which encourages or constitutes conduct that would be deemed a criminal offence, give rise to a civil liability, or otherwise is contrary to the law in the United Kingdom.

Q: What type of Parking won’t we post about?
A: We aim not to show any cars belonging to the Services – be it the Police, Fire Brigade, Ambulances etc nor cars that are clearly sat with hazards. We only want to shame those who have left their cars in an bad, inconsiderate, lazy, or selfish location.

Q: What happens with my picture and information?
A: By posting on our site (or one of our social media pages) you give SelfishParker.com the right to use the images across all of our platforms and log any information we deem relevant for the site. We may use the information for such purposes as our future Statistics page or with partners in the future.

Many of our pics come from social media, either shared with us or shared by us from other bad parking handles. The content written by them is only shortened to fit into our front page tiles. Their views and opinions are their own and we take no liability for what they write.

Q: What’s the best way to search?
A: We suggest searching by registration plate number BUT you can also search by car make, location, and even colour. The search function is a simple tool that scans the number plate entries and general text submitted by users. We RECOMMEND when searching a number plate that you only do a simple search like AA11 or SCM as often people add the number plates in different ways…sometimes with spaces in the lettering and sometimes without.

Q: What if my car appears on the site and I want it removed?
A: Simple. Drop us a note with an explanation as to how you weren’t actually parking selfishly and we will consider removing the picture. Similarly, if you see a car you don’t believe is parked selfishly, or in a way warranting it being on our website, then likewise drop us an email and we will gladly remove if in agreement.

Q: Who polices parking?
A: It isn’t usually the police!
On-street parking – Includes spaces that are not in car parks. In most towns and cities this is enforced by the local authority.
Public off-street parking – Refers to car parks run by, or on behalf of, local authorities.
Private off-street parking – Includes all privately owned car parks and any piece of land used for parking, such as supermarket, hospital, railway station or office car parks.