‘Fairer’ parking tickets planned
Dipesh Gadher,
Transport Correspondent
Sunday Times
TRAFFIC wardens are to be renamed “civil enforcement officers” under a government shake- up intended to restore motorists’ confidence by introducing a fairer and more consistent system of parking regulations.
Ministers want wardens to use greater discretion in handing out tickets for minor infringements while cracking down on those who persistently flout the law. The proposals, seen by The Sunday Times, are likely to go out to consultation within the next six weeks. Plans being considered include:
Variable fines so that drivers who overstay on a parking meter by a few minutes will be charged less than those who commit more serious offences such as parking on double yellow lines or disabled bays. A new maximum fine of £120 is being considered in London, according to reports.
An extension of the period of grace before a vehicle is clamped from 15 minutes to an hour.
Banning councils from setting targets for the number of tickets issued by wardens.
Pursuing motorists who have driven away or threatened a warden by allowing more parking fines to be sent by post.
The creation of a national database to identify persistent offenders who have failed to pay three or more parking fines. If caught, these drivers face automatic clamping.
One of the most controversial proposals is to use CCTV evidence to issue parking tickets outside London, targeting mothers on the school run.
A draft version of the transport department consultation document says: “CCTV and camera enforcement will help [local] authorities target enforcement activity on sensitive areas (eg outside schools) and areas where there is a high level of contravention of parking regulations.”
Britain’s 32m drivers paid more than £1 billion in parking fines and charges last year. Drivers can be fined up to £100 in London or £60 outside the capital. These penalties are halved if paid within 14 days.
The frequency with which some motorists are receiving tickets has provoked a backlash against traffic wardens. In some areas abuse and assaults are routine and wardens wear stab-proof vests.
Some have done little to help their cause. There has been a spate of cases in recent months of tickets being issued to ambulances, breakdown recovery vehicles and even hearses.
All councils in London and a further 146 local authorities across England have taken up decriminalised parking powers. This means parking regulations are now enforced by civilian staff — technically known as parking attendants — rather than traffic wardens employed by the police.
The government’s proposals make it clear that parking enforcement should not be viewed by councils “as a financial end in itself . . . authorities should not use their [powers] as a substitute for, or an additional form of, local taxation”.
Councils are advised to use greater discretion where mitigating circumstances apply. It is also recommended that wardens give a verbal warning rather than a fine if a driver returns to the vehicle before a parking ticket has been filled in.
The proposals state that wardens should be adequately trained in “interpersonal, conflict resolution and oral communications skills” and should display qualities of “firmness and tact” while on patrol.
On the question of variable fines, the consultation document says: “Presently, there exists a uniform method of penalty charging no matter what the contravention. Another option would see a more severe penalty for those committing ‘more serious’ parking contraventions.
“An example of this could be a higher penalty charge for those contravening on a yellow line rather than overstaying in a paid-for parking place.”
Under the new guidelines, wheel clamping should be used only in “limited circumstances” and is actively discouraged at night. Existing guidance allows drivers 15 minutes to return to their vehicles before a clamping truck is called in, but many cars, in practice, are clamped just minutes after their time runs out on a parking meter.
The new proposals will extend this period of grace to an hour, and clamped vehicles should be freed within a maximum of two hours of a declamping charge being paid. At present drivers can remain clamped all day because of bureaucratic failings.
A zero tolerance approach, however, will be applied to motorists who fail to pay three or more parking fines. “They shall be known as a persistent evader and will be subject to the strongest possible means of enforcement,” says the consultation document.
The proposals were cautiously welcomed by motoring organisations last night. Edmund King, executive director of the RAC Foundation, said: “We need more than a name change to shift the public’s perception of the traffic warden from Dick Turpin. We need a regime change.
“Proposals for fairer, variable fines and only clamping persistent offenders are a step in the right direction, but actions will speak louder than words.”
Transport Correspondent
Sunday Times
TRAFFIC wardens are to be renamed “civil enforcement officers” under a government shake- up intended to restore motorists’ confidence by introducing a fairer and more consistent system of parking regulations.
Ministers want wardens to use greater discretion in handing out tickets for minor infringements while cracking down on those who persistently flout the law. The proposals, seen by The Sunday Times, are likely to go out to consultation within the next six weeks. Plans being considered include:
Variable fines so that drivers who overstay on a parking meter by a few minutes will be charged less than those who commit more serious offences such as parking on double yellow lines or disabled bays. A new maximum fine of £120 is being considered in London, according to reports.
An extension of the period of grace before a vehicle is clamped from 15 minutes to an hour.
Banning councils from setting targets for the number of tickets issued by wardens.
Pursuing motorists who have driven away or threatened a warden by allowing more parking fines to be sent by post.
The creation of a national database to identify persistent offenders who have failed to pay three or more parking fines. If caught, these drivers face automatic clamping.
One of the most controversial proposals is to use CCTV evidence to issue parking tickets outside London, targeting mothers on the school run.
A draft version of the transport department consultation document says: “CCTV and camera enforcement will help [local] authorities target enforcement activity on sensitive areas (eg outside schools) and areas where there is a high level of contravention of parking regulations.”
Britain’s 32m drivers paid more than £1 billion in parking fines and charges last year. Drivers can be fined up to £100 in London or £60 outside the capital. These penalties are halved if paid within 14 days.
The frequency with which some motorists are receiving tickets has provoked a backlash against traffic wardens. In some areas abuse and assaults are routine and wardens wear stab-proof vests.
Some have done little to help their cause. There has been a spate of cases in recent months of tickets being issued to ambulances, breakdown recovery vehicles and even hearses.
All councils in London and a further 146 local authorities across England have taken up decriminalised parking powers. This means parking regulations are now enforced by civilian staff — technically known as parking attendants — rather than traffic wardens employed by the police.
The government’s proposals make it clear that parking enforcement should not be viewed by councils “as a financial end in itself . . . authorities should not use their [powers] as a substitute for, or an additional form of, local taxation”.
Councils are advised to use greater discretion where mitigating circumstances apply. It is also recommended that wardens give a verbal warning rather than a fine if a driver returns to the vehicle before a parking ticket has been filled in.
The proposals state that wardens should be adequately trained in “interpersonal, conflict resolution and oral communications skills” and should display qualities of “firmness and tact” while on patrol.
On the question of variable fines, the consultation document says: “Presently, there exists a uniform method of penalty charging no matter what the contravention. Another option would see a more severe penalty for those committing ‘more serious’ parking contraventions.
“An example of this could be a higher penalty charge for those contravening on a yellow line rather than overstaying in a paid-for parking place.”
Under the new guidelines, wheel clamping should be used only in “limited circumstances” and is actively discouraged at night. Existing guidance allows drivers 15 minutes to return to their vehicles before a clamping truck is called in, but many cars, in practice, are clamped just minutes after their time runs out on a parking meter.
The new proposals will extend this period of grace to an hour, and clamped vehicles should be freed within a maximum of two hours of a declamping charge being paid. At present drivers can remain clamped all day because of bureaucratic failings.
A zero tolerance approach, however, will be applied to motorists who fail to pay three or more parking fines. “They shall be known as a persistent evader and will be subject to the strongest possible means of enforcement,” says the consultation document.
The proposals were cautiously welcomed by motoring organisations last night. Edmund King, executive director of the RAC Foundation, said: “We need more than a name change to shift the public’s perception of the traffic warden from Dick Turpin. We need a regime change.
“Proposals for fairer, variable fines and only clamping persistent offenders are a step in the right direction, but actions will speak louder than words.”
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