Parking now enforced by CCTV

Local authorities are able to use remote cameras to enforce parking regulations from today – and that could mean a rise in the number of tickets being issued to motorists.The new Civil Parking Enforcement guidelines - the new parking rules for the UK - allow councils outside of London to use CCTV. The official line from the Department for Transport is that the system will only be used to enforce regulation where “it is impractical or dangerous for a parking attendant to operate”. However, that could mean that many more tickets are issued as councils become able to remotely patrol previously inaccessible areas. Furthermore, stopping to drop off a passenger on double lines could result in a fine.Authorities such as Medway in Kent are rolling out CCTV, including mobile units in vans, to operate in urban centres. Like speeding fines the penalty charge notices are issued by post; the driver won’t know about it until it arrives up to 14 days later.The guidance also makes PCNs valid if a driver leaves before the enforcement officer can attach the ticket to the car. Previously the notice had to be physically attached to the vehicle; now they can be issued by post.The introduction of CCTV as an enforcement tool has sparked fears that number-plate theft and mis-registration, such as cars deliberately giving a false address to the DVLA, will rise as drivers attempt to evade the cameras.Number-plate cloning has increased;¬ 9000 plates were stolen in London alone in 2006 and the problem is so bad that the DVLA has helped develop theft-resistant number plates.There is better news for motorists contained within the new regulations, though.Local authorities will be have better control over disruptive road works; contractors have to give longer notice periods to avoid lots of different works in the same area at the same time, and councils will able to ban works during rush hour. Figures from the Parking and Traffic Appeals Service, which oversees appeals against tickets, suggest that half of penalty charges in the UK are issued wrongly. 50 per cent of appeals in 2006 were successful, and that figure rose to 75 per cent in London.

Dan Stevens