THEIR VIEW
That's no excuse

State-senatorial rank has its privileges. But parking illegally is not one of them. And as a flurry of letters to the editors ... point out, plenty of people - in and out of the General Assembly - avoid parking in fire lanes.

Unfortunately, Sen. Robert Ford apparently isn't a member of that law-abiding group. After being told by our reporter recently that a ''Watchdog'' reader had photographed his car on July 13 in a fire lane at a West Ashley shopping center, Sen. Ford explained, ''It was the only place I could park. I wasn't in there more than two or three minutes.'' ...

Sen. Ford eluded apprehension by the authorities, though not by that attentive ''Watchdog'' reader. He compounded his offense by being bluntly unapologetic about his willful violation of a city of Charleston ordinance that carries a fine of $45.

Sen. Ford said: ''Every person in the country does it.'' ...

Frank Finley, acting deputy chief of the city of Charleston Fire Department, knows why we need fire lanes. He told us: ''They allow us access to the building.''

Chief Finley warned that cars blocking those lanes ''could definitely impede'' timely responses to fires, concluding: ''To leave your car untended in a fire lane is not a good thing.''

Neither is using the ludicrous excuse of ''every person in the country does it.''

The (Charleston) Post and Courier