It is your responsibility to comply with parking regulations. Ignorance of the law is no excuse if you are caught parking illegally.
Never park...
- Where it would cause obstruction or danger to other road users.
- If you cannot comply with, or don't understand the regulations.
- On a pedestrian crossing or zig-zag area.
- At the side of a road that has a central double white line.
- On a clearway during operational times.
- On a cycle or bus lane, or a tramway.
- In bays reserved for doctors, ambulances, disabled drivers and others.
- Across the lines of a marked bay.
Don't assume...
- That it's okay to park because other cars are parked there, or because someone says that you may.
- That parking is free or unrestricted on Bank Holidays, Sundays, in the evenings or overnight.
- That you may wander off to look for change for the meter or a ticket machine – you have no excuse if you are ticketed or clamped while you are away.
- That buying a ticket for a pay-and-display car park means that you are in the clear. Make sure that it can be seen before you leave the car.
Look out for...
- Controlled zones where blanket restrictions apply (eg meter areas, voucher parking and residents' parking). Signs for these are often placed only at the start of the zone.
Be in the know...
- You may pick up and drop off passengers in restricted parking areas but not on clearways (eg Red Routes in London), and it's best avoided on double yellow lines and loading areas.
- Continuous loading/unloading is permitted except where kerb markings indicate a loading ban, or on clearways. Check for notices on posts or walls to see when restricted hours apply.
- If you have a disability you may be entitled to a Blue Badge, giving you parking concessions.
If you get a parking ticket...
- Don't ignore it. Many parking fines carry a 50 per cent discount if you pay within 14 days. The address for payment will be on the back.
- Appeal if you think the ticket is unfair. Write to the address on the back, giving as much tangible evidence as possible. Take notes and photographs at the scene.
- If the initial appeal is unsuccessful you can sometimes make a further appeal to the Parking Adjudicator (if parking is fully controlled by the local authority) or to the magistrates' court (district court in Scotland).
The authorities don't always get it right. Tell us if you have been the victim of unscrupulous clampers – the information will help us get this practice outlawed. In Scotland, wheelclamping is already illegal.
