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Welcome to our new Parking Ticket Questions and Answers page.


PAYMENT DATES
Q. If I just wan't to pay a PCN what are the payment deadline

A. If you don't appeal then the time limits to pay are as follows:
For a Penalty Charge Notice ("PCN") issued by a civil enforcement officer.
1) for the original PCN to get the discount 14 days counting the date of the service of the PCN as day 1.
2) For a Notice to Owner ("NTO") issued 28 days counting the date of the service of the NTO as day 1.

For a PCN issued by camera
1) for the original PCN to get the discount 21 days counting the date of the service of the PCN as day 1.

The PCN is treated as a Notice to Owner.



Q. Is it a legal requirement for a councils parking ticket issuer to take a photo of the vehicle registration and car position, when issuing a PCN.

Should the council then forward this to us/me pending an appeal. 
 
It is not a legal obligation.  However if it is the council's normal procedure to do so and in your case they have not provided a photo in evidence in my view it casts doubt on the evidence they produce because it suggests that they are cherry picking at the evidence they have to show only what favours their case.


T-BARS

Q I see many single yellow lines with no T-Bar.  Are the yellow lines enforceable?

A The simple answer is no!.

Every single and double yellow line must terminate with a T-Bar (referred to legally as a transverse mark), a single line at right angles to the kerb which is joined to the beginning and end of the lines.  The law is contained in The Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2002 ("TSRGD 2002").

This T-Bar must be in place even where the yellow line(s) end at a parking bay or zig-zag.

Not surprisingly it must be present where one type of line changes to another type of line.

It must also be placed where the time plate changes the time restrictions even if the line remains a continuous single yellow line. E.g where there is a parking restriction to say 1.30 pm on a Saturday but this changes to 6.30 pm on a Saturday further along.  The T-Bar must be placed where the time plate changing the parking restriction is placed.

The requirement to have the T-Bars in place is mandatory but in one case before a Parking Adjudicator (London Borough of Camden -v- Mr. K J Minier) where there was a missing T-Bar to my surprise the motorist lost because the adjudicator took the view that this omission was minor and that neither the appellant nor any other motorist would be misled or confused by the fact that the T-Bars were missing. The council also admitted that it was not their practice to but T-Bars at the end of a yellow line where it met a parking bay (this is not correct procedure - see above)

I believe that this decision is flawed.  Although I have not succeeded in a case where the lines were interrupted by a zebra crossing and there was T-Bar where the double yellow lines abutted the zigzags

I have, however, won a case where the T-Bar was not present when a single yellow line abutted a double yellow line (Gerrard - v - LondonBorough of Enfield). 

 

PARKING SIGNS ON A WALL!

Here is the answer I provided to the Sunday Times in respect of a reader's question

Q I recently received a penalty charge notice for parking in a disabled bay. I was unaware of the restriction because the only warning was a white sign (about 1ft square) mounted on a nearby white wall at the rear end of the parking bay. There were no notices on roadside posts nor markings on the road. Surely warning signs should be more obvious than this. Is there a minimum legal standard? - NH from Redruth, Cornwall

 

A. Parking restrictions of any kind - such as on loading bays and disabled drivers' spaces - must be indicated by signs that are clear, visible and unambiguous. This is a basic requirement under common law.

The nearest thing to specific official guidelines is in the Department for Transport Traffic Signs Manual 2008. This recommends that warning signs be erected parallel to the kerb and facing the road at intervals of no more than about 60 metres (200ft).

It also says that siting a sign at the far side of a footway on, say, a wall or railing may be preferable if the footway itself is narrow. This option, though, "can only be used when conspicuity is not compromised". The manual does not say whether the sign(s) must be more prominent than normal if situated in this manner.

If you honestly believe these restrictions were not clearly marked, then persevere with the appeals process. If you can convince a parking adjudicator that these warnings were displayed in an unreasonable way and provide photographic evidence, there is a good chance the penalty notice will be dismissed.

I would add one other point.  A sign of any sort is there to give information - therefore in my view there is a common law obligation that it is clear, visible and legible.

The look, size and location of signs together with the required road markings is governed by The Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2002

LOADING AND UNLOADING

Q. I run a business and received a parking ticket whilst I was delivering goods to a customer.  The parking attendant saw me but slapped a ticket on the windscreen and walked away.  Is he allowed to do that?

A . The answer is, as so often is the case, NO he cannot give you a parking ticket ( But I bet he will)!

The basic rule is that anyone carrying on a business (the rules are different for non- business loading and unloading) can load or unload/deliver goods without getting a parking ticket providing:

1.  There are no loading restrictions in place at the time (these are indicated by single or double yellow blips on the kerb accompanied by a sign which indicates the restriction) AND

2. You do not exceed the time limit for this activity imposed by the local authority (e.g. Westminster has no time limit for loading and unloading activity up until 11 am and thereafter for businesses 40 minutes).

VEHICLE TAKEN WITHOUT MY CONSENT.

Q.  My vehicle was not stolen.  I lent it to my builder for a week to pick up building supplies for work at my home.  During that time he lent it to one of his workmen without me knowing at that workmen left the car unattended for an hour.  The first I knew of this was when I got a Notice to Owner in the post.  As the vehicle was not stolen can I appeal?

 

A.  The simple answer is YES.  The key words are "Without my consent".  You only gave consent to your builder to use it - there was no consent given to his workman.  I advised in a similar case which went to the Parking Adjudicator where the penalty charge notice was cancelled.

Q. Can a council issue parking tickets to raise money?

A. It is illegal for a cuncil to issue parking tickets to raise money ( see London Borough of Camden ex parte Cran (1995) RTR 346).

 

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