Traffic Offence Report - Parked on a road with middle double white lines

nayfeee

Came back to my car today and found a pink  traffic offence report on the window.

I didn't realise but I was parked in an area where there are double solid white lines in the middle of the road.

The offence code is 220.

Can anyone shed any light on what I'll be getting in terms of a penalty so I can be prepared for the letter arriving?

Many thanks.

Brie

Can't see where there's a 220 offence code listed.  But I did find this that may apply:

Motorway offences

Code MW10 must stay on a driving record for 4 years from the date of the offence.

Code	Offence	Penalty points
MW10	Contravention of special roads regulations (excluding speed limits)	3

So 3 points and maybe a small (ish) fine?  I'm assuming the problem is that you parking meant that you were blocking the road as the traffic couldn't legally get by your car.  

nayfeee

Thank you Brie.

I can't find anything relating to offence code 220 either which is why I was confused.

Robin9

Is a fine right for overtaking across a solid white line? - Ask the Car ...

https://askthecarexpert.com/solid-white-line/

According to the Highway Code, double white lines where the line nearest you is solid mean you MUST NOT cross or straddle it unless it is safe and you need to enter adjoining premises or a side road1. You must not park on a road marked with double white lines, even when a broken white line is on your side of the road, except to pick up or set down passengers, or to load or unload goods2.

Car_54

Brie said:

Can't see where there's a 220 offence code listed.  But I did find this that may apply:

Motorway offences

Code MW10 must stay on a driving record for 4 years from the date of the offence.

Code	Offence	Penalty points
MW10	Contravention of special roads regulations (excluding speed limits)	3

So 3 points and maybe a small (ish) fine?  I'm assuming the problem is that you parking meant that you were blocking the road as the traffic couldn't legally get by your car.  

220 is probably a local police code, meaningless to anyone else.

MW10 won’t apply, it wasn’t a special road.

Most likely offence is probably RTA section 36 - failure to obey signs/markings.

Aretnap

Brie said:

Can't see where there's a 220 offence code listed.  But I did find this that may apply:

Motorway offences

Code MW10 must stay on a driving record for 4 years from the date of the offence.

Code	Offence	Penalty points
MW10	Contravention of special roads regulations (excluding speed limits)	3

So 3 points and maybe a small (ish) fine?  I'm assuming the problem is that you parking meant that you were blocking the road as the traffic couldn't legally get by your car.  

Not sure what this has to do with motorways?

220 will be a code specific to the police force in question - it is not a DVLA code or one that will actually appear on your licence.

The offence is failing to comply with a road marking - Road Traffic Act Section 36, DVLA endorsement code TS20.

https://www.gov.uk/penalty-points-endorsements/endorsement-codes-and-penalty-points

The fixed penalty is 3 points and £100. May not be a great offence code from an insurance point of view as it's the same offence as overtaking on double white lines, which I imagine is one that insurers are not too keen on.

tifo

The OP will be very unlucky if it's anything more than a fine. Surely wrong parking can't be the same as speeding or dangerous overtaking?

(but you don't know, I know someone who recently got 5 points and £1,200 fine for joining the first lane from the second lane during traffic, someone 2 cars behind sent dashcam to police, the courts took it as careless driving. It's excessive I think. Everyday many others do same in that area).

Car_54

tifo said:

The OP will be very unlucky if it's anything more than a fine. Surely wrong parking can't be the same as speeding or dangerous overtaking?

(but you don't know, I know someone who recently got 5 points and £1,200 fine for joining the first lane from the second lane during traffic, someone 2 cars behind sent dashcam to police, the courts took it as careless driving. It's excessive I think. Everyday many others do same in that area).

As above, it’s most likely to be a fixed penalty - £100 and three points. Only if he refuses that offer, or fails to comply with the conditions, will it go to court. 

BTW to get five points your friend’s driving must have been regarded as fairly high on the scale of careless driving.

Aretnap

tifo said:

The OP will be very unlucky if it's anything more than a fine. Surely wrong parking can't be the same as speeding or dangerous overtaking?

It can be. In this case the specific offence is failing to comply with the double white lines. The meaning of the double white lines is (roughly) "No crossing the white lines; also no parking". The law doesn't distinguish between breaching them by overtaking, or by parking. It's the same offence either way - and it carries a mandatory 3 points.

There also a more general offence of dangerous parking which carries a mandatory 3 points. It's rarely prosecuted but is available for cases like parking on a blind bend, or in a live lane of a 70 mph dual carriageway, or some other situation where you're doing something worse than causing minor obstruction or inconvenience in a town centre.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/52/section/22

Added: also parking on the zig zag of a pedestrian crossing carries 3 points if dealt with by the police (though it can also be dealt with by the council as a decriminalised parking violation).

TooManyPoints

The OP will be very unlucky if it's anything more than a fine

If the charge is under s36, then 3 points is mandatory.

DullGreyGuy

tifo said:

The OP will be very unlucky if it's anything more than a fine. Surely wrong parking can't be the same as speeding or dangerous overtaking?

(but you don't know, I know someone who recently got 5 points and £1,200 fine for joining the first lane from the second lane during traffic, someone 2 cars behind sent dashcam to police, the courts took it as careless driving. It's excessive I think. Everyday many others do same in that area).

But lets say its like the photo in Robin9's post. They have either effectively made it a one way road or, more likely, are forcing other road users to break the rules by crossing the double white line to get around their inappropriately parked vehicle. 

Making 1,000 vehicles drive on the wrong side of the road on a blind bend through poor parking is vastly worse than a single vehicle speeding on a straight clear road in good road conditions. *

* intentionally an extreme example to illustrate the point