Saturday, 11 October 2008
Changes to Part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004 became law in England on 31 March 2008. This means that new parking contraventions (offences) have been introduced and changes made to the way that current contraventions are enforced.
Doncaster Council wants to help motorists understand the changes to the law, so we have produced this web-guide to the new government legislation to help motorists understand the new regulations, and enable them to park legally and safely.
Some new parking offences have been introduced. From 31 March:
Your vehicle must be parked no more than 50cm (or other specified distance) from the edge of the road, unless you are parked within a designated parking place.
You must not park in front of a dropped kerb in a special enforcement area. An example of a special enforcement area is one that has double yellow lines.
Also, from 31 March you can be issued with a Penalty Charge Notice by a Civil Enforcement Officer if you park on the zig-zags near pedestrian crossings or other crossing areas. Police officers will still issue Fixed Penalty Notices (FPN) at zig-zags, and if you received a Police FPN as well as a Civil Penalty Charge Notice, the Penalty Charge Notice will be withdrawn.
One of the biggest changes is the introduction of two different levels of Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs), which means that motorists causing the most disruption and danger to other road users through their illegal parking will receive higher fines than those committing less serious violations.
There will be a lower category charge of £50 (which is a reduction from the current £60 flat penalty), discounted to £25 if paid within 14 days, for offences such as overstaying in an off-street car park, or being parked with your engine running.
For more serious offences, such as illegally parking in a space for disabled people or parking on a cycle path, there will be a higher charge of £70, discounted to £35 if paid within 14 days.
Please see the list of all the higher and lower level charge contraventions
Issuing PCN’s by post
The new legislation means that Civil Enforcement Officers will be able to issue Penalty Charge Notices by post, if they have been unable to do in person. This might happen if the driver’s conduct has been aggressive or violent, or if a driver returns to their vehicle and drives off before the ticket can be completed.
CCTV enforcement of parking contraventions
Councils will be able to use approved CCTV cameras to collect evidence of parking contraventions; this is another time when PCNs can be issued by post.
If you believe that you have received a PCN in error, you can appeal against its issue. There are three main stages:
Informal Written Challenge
This is an optional first stage, and the other 2 stages are still available to the owner of the vehicle, even if they choose not to make an informal challenge. The driver of the vehicle at the time the PCN was issued may write to the local Council at the address given on the PCN, if he or she considers that it has been issued incorrectly. The letter should include details of the reasons why the driver believes that the PCN was issued incorrectly. The Council will consider the challenge and notify the driver of its decision.
Formal Representation
If payment is not received within 28 days of the date the PCN was issued, the Council will trace the registered keeper/owner via Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) and issue a Notice To Owner, requesting the payment of the full amount of the Penalty Charge within 28 days. If the recipient of a Notice To Owner or Penalty Charge Notice believes that it has been issued incorrectly, he or she may make a Formal Representation by completing the form on the back of the document they received from the Council.
Appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal
If the Council rejects the Formal representation, it will issue a Notice of Rejection of Representation explaining the reasons for its decision. The recipient then has the option to pay the Penalty Charge in full or appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal. The form to make this appeal will be included with the Notice of Rejection.
The Traffic Penalty Tribunal is independent of all Local Authorities and has the power, based on evidence presented to it, to order the Council to cancel the PCN. If the appeal is dismissed the person making the appeal has 28 days to pay the full Penalty Charge. The decision of the Traffic Penalty Tribunal is final on both sides; no further challenges can be made other than through an application to the High Court for a judicial review.
If you have any questions about the changes to Part 6 of the Traffic Management Act (2004) or other aspect of parking in Doncaster please contact Parking Services.
Phone: 01302 735041
Fax: 01302 862454
Email: parking.services@doncaster.gov.uk
Please use the following links to get further information about the Traffic Management Act (2004). These are external sites and Doncaster Council cannot take any responsibility for the information contained in them.
Full text of the Traffic Management Act (2004) Part 6 is the section dealing with Civil Enforcement of parking.
Parking section of The Highway Code
National Parking Adjudications Service (This became the Traffic Penalty Tribunal on 31st March)
