Arguably one of the most negatively-perceived jobs one can do, just a single glimpse of a traffic warden can ignite fear and stress in motorists. But what is it really like to work as one?
Nia Dalton from our sister site The Mirror spent the day with Bristol City Council civil enforcement officer Darren Best to find out how it felt to hit Bristol drivers with the big yellow windscreen sticker of doom. After meeting Darren in a Bedminster car park, the pair set out to enforce parking laws on the disobedient drivers of South Bristol.
Although Nia was out on the job with him, Darren decided not to give her a uniform of her own, due to the abuse he has received in his over two decades of issuing fines. "I've been doing this job for nearly 23 years and most of the time, I have no problems with the public, but there are rare occasions that people will shout, swear or push you," he told her.
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Darren supervises a team of nine civil enforcement officers - their official job title - working south of the Avon, and has worked eight-hour shifts five times a week throughout his time in his controversial role. He goes out every shift with his touchscreen device, portable printer and a hidden recording device that he presses a hidden button on whenever a member of the public starts abusing him.
Whilst Southville residential parking rules start at 9am, Darren only starts to issue tickets ten minutes later, to give motorists the chance to move their vehicles. At 9:17am, Nia detected a drive whose permit had expired four days previous, but Darren stopped her from issuing a ticket, as a two-week grace period is given.
As they moved on, they came across the white van of a driver who hadn't paid for parking, but Darren instructed Nia to wait for five minutes, "to be seen as fair". "It's a rule I've never heard nor noticed before, and I'm sure I'm not the only one," she wrote.
"With 38 seconds to spare, the driver runs up to us and asks if he's allowed to move his van, to which Darren responds: "Sure mate, you can."
"I'm surprised by how relaxed and laidback Darren is, but he tells me that he doesn't get a kick out of it."
Darren told Nia: "There's no adrenaline rush or buzz. It doesn't make a difference to me if they move the car during those five minutes. Ferrari or Fiat, a car is a car."
"We do give people leeway in certain circumstances, like vans unloading, but here we've waited for five minutes and nobody has turned up," he added, as Nia issued her first fine to a white Vauxhall.
As the pair sat down for a bit at Parsons, they couldn't catch a "proper break", as they were questioned by a Deliveroo driver who asked if they'd nick him. "All good as long as you're quick," Darren told him.
"Nobody wants a parking ticket because it costs money - and there's not a lot of that going around at the minute," Darren said to Nia. Whilst people are nervous about the cost of living crisis, he claims that "you'll never stop illegal parking near shops".
Whilst Nia found her short stint as a traffic warden "repetitive", Darren explained to her that the variety the job brings is the reason he has been doing it for as long as he has. "I'm somewhere different every day, whether it be Knowle or Brislington, and each area comes with different challenges, so it doesn't get boring," he said.
"I don't have set targets or get paid commission. I get paid the same wage at the end of the month, however many tickets I've printed.
"We don't get anything extra for booking your car - that's a huge misconception and can be quite annoying. Though it's around because some private firms do have incentives, just not the council."
As their shift neared its end, the Darren and Nia stumbled across a carelessly parked car in an area that's notorious for illegal parking - East Street. The pair neared the vehicle as a shop worker grabbed their attention, informing them: "This guy has been parked outside for days and the delivery drivers can't unload. It's not fair."
Deeming it necessary, Darren and Nia applied a yellow sticker to the windscreen of the car in question, feeling satisfied. "Sometimes people do deserve the fine," Darren said.
Summing up her day out on the job, Nia explained: "Heading back to the car, I do feel as though we've done a good deed and I give the shop worker a victory thumbs up.
"Having ticketed five vehicles in total - but let off almost a dozen - I have a newfound respect for Darren and his trade. He's there when you want him, and unfortunately, he's also there when you don't."
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