In one year, private parking firms in the UK issued over 8.6 million parking tickets. Read to know more about the alarming rise in parking fines.
Between April 2021 to March 2022, a whopping 8.6 million parking tickets have been handed to drivers in the UK. The tickets issued by private parking firms in these 12 months have recorded a 50% increase over the last four years – 2017-2021.
These statistics reveal a significant problem for citizens as the inability to pay a private parking ticket may lead to a county court judgment. As a result, people have urged the government to take action, such as displaying transparent practices, introducing fairer appeal systems, and providing a grace period for delayed payments.
How Were Citizens Affected?
The UK’s unstructured parking system puts the power in the hands of private parking companies. The rate of tickets issued to motorists was around 23,000 per day in 2021, as found by Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) analysis.
Parking owners levy fines when there is a breach of the agreement between them and the driver. They can issue parking tickets for parking on double yellow lines or overstaying the time limit. Such penalties are common in car parks, shopping centers, motorway service areas, leisure activities, and other public places.
Meanwhile, dissatisfied citizens have accused parking firms of using confusing signage and asking for unreasonable fees. They hide behind non-specific, pseudo-legal, and threatening processes to dupe motorists. Most drivers say they pay the charges to get rid of them.
The DVLA has also been accused of disclosing people’s information like their home address to parking firms that use the information to pursue them for unpaid parking fines.
Also Read: What is the Goldilock’s Effect of Paid Parking?
What Do the Officials Say?
Steve Gooding, the director of a motoring research charity (RAC), believes that the “eye-watering” number of tickets shows the need for government and ministers to stick to their opinions. He believes that the government should promptly start the code of practice and put caps on charges.
He also mentioned that more parking businesses are entering the market, leading to more fines. The sector demands to make the long-awaited reforms less forceful as well.
Officials believe strict rules are necessary with parking firms emerging every day and the increasing number of tickets issued.
The Code of Practice: A Positive Step?
The government introduced the private parking code of practice in 2021. It aimed to curb the fraudulent practices by parking firms and lead to fairer parking usage.
The code of practice would reduce parking fees by 50%, ban excess fees, establish an independent appeal system, and more. Additionally, the revised rules included reducing parking charges from €100 to €50 and, in grave cases charging up to €70.
This new policy would automatically cancel honest mistakes like mistyping registration numbers. It also had a provision of grace periods where motorists were allowed 10 minutes to exit with their car before issuing the fine.
The code was due to be implemented in 2024, but the UK government withdrew the private parking code of practice in June 2022 after a legal challenge from parking companies.
How Smart Parking Can Help
IoT-enabled smart parking can be a viable solution to these parking woes.
With smart parking apps, citizens can locate available parking spaces easily and quickly. They can book parking spaces before visiting a public place and use them for the designated time. This will help curb illegal parking and reduce parking fines.
Through digital payment options, drivers can pay for the parking facilities instantly, so they can avoid penalties for non-payment of parking charges.
In Summary
The number of tickets issued by private parking companies in the UK is recently increasing steadily. People are afraid that these numbers to continue to escalate if there is no implementation of formal action. Both citizens and officials want the government to implement the proposed private parking code of practice as they believe it will result in more transparency.
