The whole system is a web of mirrors (Parking Fines and Clamping)

Member Name: paulie1975

Product:	Parking Fines and Clamping
Date:	22/01/09 (25 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: If done properly it keeps roads clear and allows people access to everything

Disadvantages: Revenue overwhelms good wishes and people on both sides abuse the system

Parking fines are a huge resource for local authorities, in some boroughs I would suggest that other than Council Tax, the most revenue made is from parking fines and clampings.

Unfortunately, the whole debate really is a double edged sword.

In any busy area, it is necessary to have parking restrictions, imagine trying to get a bus on Oxford Street or anywhere in Central London if people could park on it, traffic would be at a standstill in many areas due to the narrow driving space and accidents, both driving and pedestrian accidents would rise. So parking restrictions are a necessary evil, they aren't always so bad, some are in force for restricted hours meaning you can park in less busy times, others are restricted at all times due to their busy nature.

I think where the anger and disagreement is, is for the tiny little contraventions that have come into force, so your car is 32cm away from the kerb, you can get a £50 fine for being over 30cm away from the kerb. So you parked on a street and saw a sign saying the parking hours had ended, well it turns out in some areas of London where one side of the street is Westminster and another is Kensington, you may have to park under different regulations and could be fined.

Parking enforcement is huge business and as such beyond regular parking infringements the Council's have created an industry of petty fines. This is backed up by reams of administration which would put off the most strong-minded individual. To challenge a fine you must respond within 14 days or the fine doubles, you must explain why the ticket was incorrect, the council can respond simply on your word against an attendants and then you have the right to pay or take it to an independent parking adjudicator.

Well most people who get that far win, and to be fair to Council's they have given Attendant's camera's so that real parking contraventions are clearer. But there is still that element of doubt.

Are parking attendants trustworthy, some are and some aren't I know of Attendants who issued tickets they had made up simply because they were on commission but also Attendants who would only issue tickets when absolutely necessary but the bad ones are the ones who get in the news. Parking Attendants are generally poorly paid, poorly trained and communicate awfully, upsetting motorists further and creating angry situations.

But some motorists abuse the system too and deserve everything they get, none more so than people who park in disabled parking spaces and stop people with mobility issues being as close as possible to shops.

There is a huge problem in this country of people claiming disability parking permits when they aren't really disabled, they are either lazy, overweight or chancers and they stop the real victims, the real needy people from using the system properly.

So from my point of view, we have people on both sides of the fence abusing the system, creating an atmosphere of recrimination and anger, we have poorly trained Parking Attendants, people who park where they want and blame the system and the issue of revenue overshadowing everything.

I think they should revise the Road Traffic Act and remove some of the madly petty offences, make some of the most dangerous ones more strongly enforced and provide a real clear structure to this infuriatingly bureaucratic system.

Summary: This whole business needs some clarification