The lack of a fine for that is insane.

This is mainly an enforcement problem. If the city simply towed every car that did this, this sort of shit would stop immediately. But of course nobody wants to hurt the precious little feefees of car drivers because they're very very special little snowflakes.

would it be a controversial opinion that those trams should be strong enough to ram and move those cars, the owner is then responsible to pay for the fines, damages to his own vehicle, and whatever damages the ramming has caused to the tram.

In Belgium it works like this: If the tram could seemingly pass, but the tram driver was mistaken, then the car owner + insurance has to pay the tram company for the damage/delay/towing. If the tram driver has to stop and wait for the car to get towed, then the car owner + their insurance have to pay for towing costs + the tram delay. In theory anyway: I don't know hard the enforcement is, maybe they only try to go after delay costs if they are significant.

Dutch article with 2 examples, first one with car at fault, 2nd one with bus at fault: https://mijnverkeersongeval.be/nl/faq_categories/aansprakelijkheid/bijzondere-gevallen/tram

People keep doing it because they get away with it.

Put a cow-catcher on the front, like the old-timey trains, and roll those cars out of the way. Make sure that it gets covered heavily in the media, with cars left on their sides and roofs.

The scofflaws will get the message really quick, and stop it.

Big fine + towed car. Even those car brains will learn.

AchBremen.txt

This is particularly bad in this German city, the city state even won a court case that allows on-curb parking, because the city is too afraid of car owners and too little of pedestrians, wheelchair users and bicycle riders.

The sound of the bell makes me so angry.

Sometimes, the tram passengers group up and move small cars out of the tracks manually.

One word: Tramdozer

Trams should operate on fire truck rules.

You don't need a fine, per se, you just get billed for the repairs after it rams your vehicle out of the way.

In Vienna, over the last decade the authorities have removed hundreds of parking spots like this where cars repeatedly blocked the tram. Now, the number of times it happens is very low, since the spots that remain should be very easy to Park in a way that doesnt block

The fact that the drivers aren't fined is what's most wild to me. Where I live they fine the everliving fuck out of you if you park somewhere you're not supposed to.

Slap a cow catcher on the front of those trams and blast those mfers out of the way. Park on the tracks at your own risk assholes.

The city of St. Gallen in Switzerland simply charges CHF 20 per minute that the tram is blocked. (21€ / $25) https://www.srf.ch/news/zug-blockiert-falschparken-kostet-20-franken-pro-minute

The transportation company is not responsible if passengers break the windows of the car and flatten their tires. I guess doing this a couple of times and the newspapers reporting crazy team users destroying cars on the path of the train will fix the issue.

Put a bull bar on the tram, easy fix

In Amsterdam they just drive on and push the car off the tracks lmao.

if the tram damages a poorly parked car, the transportation company will have to pay the damages. Poorly parked vehicles never get fined and the owners will only need to pay if the car ends up getting towed.

THAT is exactly the problem.

The politicians made sure the Law was set-up to benefit car owners and screw the rest, similarly to how drivers will get a mere fine when they kill somebody with their car whilst distracted (say, looking at their mobile phones) in situations which if they didn't do it behind the wheel of a car would be treated as involuntary homicide (what Americans call manslaughter) and carry a jail sentence, because they didn't have due care and attention whilst controlling a dangerous piece of machinery.

I once heard (not really sure if it's true, but damn I would love if it was) about how in Switzerland they had this car tow which was simply a big grab claw - similar to those in junkyards - that just grabbed irregularly park cars from above to put it in the tow truck and, well, any damage to the vehicle was the responsability of the car owner for having parked the car like that

Have something like that and this problem you're describing (in, judging by the picture, Bremen in Germany) would solve itself within a month as news travelled of car owners doing this shit and getting their car trashed. Then again, German mainstream politicians absolutelly are in the pockets of the car industry (all it takes is to look at how the handling of the Emissions Scandal was basically "blame some random Engineer", or check which companies get the most subsidies in Germany), so don't expect pro-people legilstation if it goes against the interests of the car lobby.

I assume the spot is clearly labeled for no parking? Just station a tow truck by the offending spot. Someone parks there they get an insta-tow. Word will get around quick enough.

Gotta fine that shit, that is unacceptable, wtf. Weak af.

If the problem is that widespread, couldn't you hire someone to patrol this track all day with a tow truck and promptly tow away any offenders, financing the operation with the fines that are incurred?

As a car guy (yes I know where I am - I don't live in a city though), idiots like this make no sense to me.

If you enjoy driving, you should in fact be in favor of public transit. It means less traffic, makes driving nicer. Even if you're 100% self-absorbed, you should still be supportive of public transit.

Wait, how is the vehicle on rails responsible for hitting anything that isn't moving?

Same for bicycle lanes. I've had people pull up and stop right on my lane in front of me, fully expecting me to go around them while exposing myself to oncoming traffic instead of waiting 5 seconds for me to pass.