I can't park there?

I've been watching a Parking Wars marathon today. If you're not familiar with the show, it follows people from the Philadelphia Parking Authority (PPA) as they give out tickets, "boot" cars for unpaid tickets, and release impounded cars to people.

I guess Philadelphia enforces their parking laws very stringently and a lot of people get really angry and upset when they get tickets or their car is booted. They say that they just left their car for a minute, as if that makes it ok for them to illegally park their car or double-park it. I don't understand why it's ok if the car is illegally parked for only a short period of time.

These people don't seem to get that the parking laws are there for a reason. And if people get used to parking illegally or with expired meters then there's no incentive for them to park properly when it's really needed. What if a car was parked in front of a fire hydrant and there was a fire? What if a car was parked in a bus zone and a pedestrian got hit by another car because they couldn't exit the block properly?

Of course parking with an expired meter isn't likely going to be a life-or-death situation. What it's about is fairness to everyone who wants to park. Why should someone get to use up a parking space for free when everyone else has to pay?

It seems that many people just can't see past themselves; they seem to think that the whole world revolves around them when in reality, no person is an island - and no person is so important that they are above the rules.

Anyways, I've been enjoying watching the show all day, and not just because rules are being enforced (something I love, when the rules make sense). It's entertaining, watching the PPA employees and the people they're interacting with. There are some genuinely funny moments :)