Two tiers of parking fines
Two levels of parking fines have been introduced to reflect that some parking contraventions cause less disruption and are less hazardous to road users than others.
This means that less serious parking contraventions receive an £50 penalty whereas contraventions that are more serious cost £70. A 50% reduction applies if the ticket is paid within 14 days. These charges have been agreed in advance and are not at the discretion of the parking attendant.
The higher rate contraventions include:
• Parking on double and single yellow lines
• Parking on or near pedestrian crossings
• Parking in a bus lane
Less serious contravention include:
• Overstaying specified time in a time-limited parking bay
• Not parking within the parking bay markings
• Re-parking in a short-stay bay within one hour of leaving.
Zig zag markings
Since March, parking attendants have been able to enforce zig zag markings which are put in place where visibility or access is essential for safety of the users such as near pedestrian crossings. outside some schools and stations used by the emergency services.
The police can still act if there is an obstruction which is affects the safety of road users.
Changes to how Penalty Charge Notices can be issued
Tickets can be issued through the post where:
- the parking attendant has began issuing the ticket but the motorist drove away before it was attached to the windscreen or handed to the driver.
- the parking attendants are threatened and are unable to issue a ticket
Parking attendants will use their discretion when issuing tickets in this way but it will ensure tickets are issued more fairly.