Local authorities should pay 10 times the parking fine in compensation if they fail to contest parking appeals from motorists,” says Neil Greig, IAM Trust Director as new parking regulations are introduced on Monday 31 March.
“In the past, many motorists who appealed against parking fines received a standard dismissal. But when they pressed on withtheir appeal, local authorities often decided not to contest it and offered no compensation for the time, stress and expense incurred.Knowing that failure to follow through on questioned penalty chargescould incur compensation of around £800 would encourage local authorities to take every motorist’s appeal seriously.”
While welcoming many of the new parking arrangements, the IAM Trust wants civil enforcement officers (CEOs, the new name for parking attendants) to focus on the hard-to-trace motorists with no tax, who are often uninsured, rather than law-abiding motorists with known addresses.
“It’s easier to have an official looking at a screen (See notes to editors) and issuing revenue-raising penalty charges than carrying out the more difficult and costly pursuit of the untaxed, uninsured, unlicensed ‘motoring underclass’,” adds Greig.
Current regulations say that CEOs can, not must, focus on these tax/insurance evaders.The IAM Trust wants every local authority to follow London’s example, where local authorities require CEOs to carry out these checks.
The new regulations also contain welcome measures for motorists, including:
Extending the payment discount period from 14 to 21 days
Discouraging clamping, except for those with at least three outstanding unchallenged penalty charge notices, or those displaying no tax disc
Fining vehicles parked where they may be causing a hazard, eg at dropped kerbs
Reporting motoring tax dodgers to the DVLA (optional, except in London)
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Media Contacts
IAM Motoring Trust Media Line: 020 8996 9777
Neil Greig: 020 8996 9772 neil.greig@iamtrust.org.uk
Kevin Delaney: 020 8996 9774 kevin.delaney@iamtrust.org.uk
www.iamtrust.org.uk
Notes to editors
From 31 March, local authorities will be able to use CCTV for parking enforcement. Traffic authorities in London have been able to use CCTV since 2000.
Links
Statutory Guidance to Local Authorities on the Civil Enforcement of Parking Contraventions
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