Park Right: The easy way to avoid parking tickets. Guide discussion

RonFog

GBB wrote: »

I've got off with fines before by not accepting the ticket. Rather than argue the toss with someone who is going to give me a ticket no matter what I say, I just drive off before they put the ticket on the car. I've not had a ticket having done this yet.
Also, I believe that if the road markings are incorrect (such as the lines not being barred at the end of the restriction) then you can challenge the fine and get off the penalty.
Hope this is of use.

You have been lucky so far, it used to be the case that if a CEO had not fixed a PCN to your windscreen it was not enforceable. That is now not the case as local authorities can and do mail PCNs once they have been produced. You are correct in that if road markings or street signage is incomplete or incorrect you can appeal a PCN.

RonFog

siondaf wrote: »

I was given a parking ticket yesterday for parking next to a 'kerb drop' - not a driveway access, but a pedestrian pavement access one. First of all I was unaware that this parking restriction existed in relation to pavement access.

Secondly on the other side of the street there were double yellow lines across the kerb drop to clearly indicate that no parking was allowed, however on my side there were no yellow lines. If there were double yellows I wouldnt have parked there!

My question is, do I have grounds to appeal due to lack of road markings and that this was not a driveway access kerb drop??

Thanks

There is every chance that you can successfully appeal on this one. Firstly I would suggest that you start a new thread and put code 27 in the description bar. Secondly you will need to post up both sides of the ticket obscuring your personal details (use tinypics to do this). There are a number of experts who should be able to help you, Dave O and Coupon Mad are two I remember. Otherwise search through threads for PCNs code 27, there is a huge amount already on this forum. Hope that helps.

RonFog

joelrichardevans wrote: »

I'd like to see some changes in the law on parking to make it fairer (Martin, are you listening?):

- Single yellow lines and "controlled zones". Who can reasonably be expected to remember the exact parking times on a sign they passed 5mins ago? Particularly as they were probably turning into a side street (and trying to avoid running over suicidal pedestrians) at the same time... Councils should be legally obliged to put up signs next to all single yellow lines telling people of the restrictions.

- Bank holidays. Signs should be standardised across the country - either if parking restrictions don't apply on bank holidays, the signs should explicitly say so or if parking restrictions do apply on bank holidays, signs should explicitly say so. As long as it's consistent across the UK, it doesn't matter which - but when I visit your town on Easter Monday to spend my money in your shops, I shouldn't have to check your council website before I can properly understand your parking signs.

- If you park in a parking bay at 3pm, buy a 2 hour ticket from the machine, but after after 4pm that road becomes a clearway: A) There should be a big fat sign on the ticket machine warning you of the clearway restrictions and The machine should be intelligent enough to not issue you a 2 hour ticket*

Unfortunately, as councils directly profit from parking ticket revenues, we can't rely on them to have our best interests at heart - so some form of legislation, or at least central government guidelines, are the only way forward imo.

* Yes, Nottingham City Council, I'm talking about you! Can I have my car back now please?

Couldn't agree with you more particularly when it comes to CPZs. Some zones are are very large and motorists can and do forget which zone they are in even if the signs do comply. The Parking guidance and statutory guidance 31st March 2008 issued by the Government to Local Authorities seeks to address this by stating that a CPZ should not be larger than 12 streets. This is taken from the guidance:

“Clause E5: The Secretary of State's view is that motorists cannot reasonably be expected to read, understand and remember the parking restrictions at the entrance to a Controlled Parking Zone that covers an area of more than a dozen streets. CPZs rely solely on zone entry signs to give times of operation and to remove the need for time plates within the zone, except on lengths of road where the restrictions apply at different times to the rest of the zone. The area of a CPZ should, therefore, be restricted to, for example, a Town Centre shopping area. A single zone covering a whole town, or suburb of a conurbation, would be much too large. Conventional time plate signing, without zone entry signs, should accompany the yellow sign markings where large areas have waiting restrictions. Time plates are not necessary where there are double yellow lines.”

The problem is that it is just guidance, not law and local authorities blatantly ignore the advice. Whilst it is unlikely a motorist will make the same mistake twice is this reasonable and fair? Does anyone have any ideas on how to lobby the Secretary of State?

John_Pierpoint

dalsude wrote: »

In the section The ten top parking 'did you knows?', under "What if I'm disabled" it says
"You can get what is known as a Blue Badge. This allows you to park for free in parking meter and pay-and-display bays."

Unfortunately this isn't always true as it varies by council. I got stung by Westminster City Council because I didn't know that (I do now!).

My advice - ALWAYS check the signs, even if you have to go looking for one.

You will get "done" while you go looking for the sign in "Westminster" - see above.

A documentary film maker made a film on the trials and tribulations of being an intelligent, polite, helpful migrant from the Indian Sub-continent and trying to get a job as a parking warden in Westminster.

It was quite revealing:
"Our wardens are not on a bonus scheme".
Yes nothing as crude as the top performer winning a car - but only those at the top of the performance league were offered the weekend money for old rope overtime rate task, of booking out of towners in tourist areas such as Soho.

John_Pierpoint

RonFog wrote: »

Couldn't agree with you more particularly when it comes to CPZs. Some zones are are very large and motorists can and do forget which zone they are in even if the signs do comply. The Parking guidance and statutory guidance 31st March 2008 issued by the Government to Local Authorities seeks to address this by stating that a CPZ should not be larger than 12 streets. This is taken from the guidance:

“Clause E5: The Secretary of State's view is that motorists cannot reasonably be expected to read, understand and remember the parking restrictions at the entrance to a Controlled Parking Zone that covers an area of more than a dozen streets. CPZs rely solely on zone entry signs to give times of operation and to remove the need for time plates within the zone, except on lengths of road where the restrictions apply at different times to the rest of the zone. The area of a CPZ should, therefore, be restricted to, for example, a Town Centre shopping area. A single zone covering a whole town, or suburb of a conurbation, would be much too large. Conventional time plate signing, without zone entry signs, should accompany the yellow sign markings where large areas have waiting restrictions. Time plates are not necessary where there are double yellow lines.”

The problem is that it is just guidance, not law and local authorities blatantly ignore the advice. Whilst it is unlikely a motorist will make the same mistake twice is this reasonable and fair? Does anyone have any ideas on how to lobby the Secretary of State?

While we are at it can we colour band the lamp posts to indicate the speed limit? I'm still smarting from the time I collected 3 points and a fine for parking in a lay bye. When I then drove off some time later along a bypass road, that I thought was a 40 MPH limit, I got flashed for doing 37 MPH.

JimmyTheWig

John_Pierpoint wrote: »

While we are at it can we colour band the lamp posts to indicate the speed limit?

That would put some of us at a disadvantage...

scotsbob

lucylucky wrote: »

Sadly out of date and inaccurate info on that site so not to be relied on.

That's what the feedback section is for. The site relies on users keeping it up to date.

CheeseCat

Am I right in saying you can appeal a council ticket but not a police parking ticket?

Even if there were no double yellows, dropped kerb etc but they ticketed you anyway?

My options seem to be pay or court

(pretty damn sure it was just reported by one of the snobby people who dont like me parking outside their house, even though they have 3 car driveways - guessing the policeman was their friend )

Squizzle_2

20 minutes for loading/unloading huh? We had spent most of the day doing a house removal and were on the last load at around 7 p.m., going round turning off lights and locking up and came out to find a van (on the same set of double yellow lines) with 3 "civil enforcement officers" sitting in it while a fourth had written a ticket. Their submission was that they had observed our vehicles (a hired van and my estate car) for two minutes and hadn't seen any evidence of loading! The car was full to the roof with furniture and other stuff so it was obvious what we were doing. That's not keeping the roads safe, it's just a money-making scam. (just like the speed camera on the hill just after the school. If it was really about safety, wouldn't it be just before the school?)
My first appeal was turned down; the second only succeeded because they said they had issued the wrong code!:mad:

bluewatermad

On saturday we and thousands of other people decended on Bluewater, we drove around for about 30 minutes looking for a space, all to no avail. We eventually came across, at the end of a parking lane, a marked area covered in what can be described as white chevrons across it. There was no signs sayng no parking, none painted in this area, they were white line not yellow or red and when parked we was not obstructing the traffic, we was totally inside this marked area. After seven hours and quite a bit of revenue going into the Bluewater shops, we came out to a parking ticket from PCM for "parking out of bay". If I am in the wrong I will pay, but reading the latest MSE it tells me not to pay but the info does not quite cover the parking area I was in. Any advice would be greatfully received.