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Parking enforcement changes, From 1 April 2008 (How appropriate is the date?)
borsicorn
post Wed, 13 Feb 2008 - 16:42
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Changes to DPE from April '08 Presently Decriminalised (Council) parking enforcement is covered by the RTA 1991. From 31 March 2008 there is a legal requirement to follow the parking enforcement framework contained within Part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004.
Part 6 of The Traffic Management Act 2004, and the Regulations made under it will replace Part 11 of the Road Traffic Act 1991 and provide a single framework in England for the civil enforcement of parking.
The aim of the changes being made under the Traffic Management Act 2004 is to provide transparency in parking enforcement practices, provide clearer understanding to motorists, improve consistency and national standards.

Main Changes

In summary the main changes being made under the Traffic Management Act 2004 which effect the Council’s parking enforcement regime are:

Presentational
  • Decriminalised Parking Enforcement (DPE) to be called Civil Parking Enforcement.
  • Parking Attendant’s to be called Civil Enforcement Officers (CEO)
  • Designated Parking/Permitted Parking Areas to be called Civil Enforcement Areas (CEA).
Changes to Regulations
(including new powers for authorities outside London currently only held by London authorities)
  • The introduction of differential parking penalties depending on the seriousness of the contravention.
  • The power to serve Penalty Charge Notices by post if an enforcement officer has started to issue it but the vehicle is driven away before it has been served and in instances of where a driver prevents an officer serving a notice by way of making threats.
  • The power to undertake enforcement by cameras (approved devices which have to be certified by the Secretary of State), and to send Penalty Charge Notices by post with such evidence.
  • The introduction of a 21 day discount period for Penalty Charge Notices sent by post where enforcement has been undertaken by an approved device.
  • The National Parking Adjudication Service (NPAS) given power to refer appeals back to the Authority for reconsideration (by the Chief Executives department) in cases where it is considered that suitable discretion was not originally exercised by the Authority in considering a parking appeal.
  • The power to enforce against parking across dropped kerbs.
  • The power to enforce against double parking (parking further than 50 centimetres from the edge of a carriageway).
Changes to Guidance

Authorities should publish parking policies.

In situations where a parking contravention has occurred but in mitigating circumstances authorities should make and publish guidelines on their use of discretion which should be used flexibly.

Stronger emphasis on staff training.

Authorities are encouraged to use photographic evidence as additional evidence that the parking contravention has occurred.

Where an informal challenge is made against a Penalty Charge Notice within the 14 day 50% discount period and is rejected, authorities are encouraged to re-offer the discount.

Authorities should annually report on and publish certain financial and statistical information (expenditure, income, number of notices issued, paid and cancelled).

Changeover Date

Until 2400 hours on Sunday 30 March 2008, enforcement action is taken using the powers in the Road Traffic Act 1991 and other legislation. From 00.00.01 hours on Monday 31 March 2008 enforcement action must be taken under the Traffic Management Act 2004 and its associated regulations.

All Penalty Charge Notice issued before 2400 hours on Sunday 30 March must be done so under the Road Traffic Act 1991 and any subsequent action (serving of notices and dealing with appeals etc) must continue under the 1991 Act.

Differential Penalty Charges

Currently all parking contraventions (outside London) are covered by the same penalty charge level. However under the Traffic Management Act 2004 authorities must issue two different levels of penalty charges depending on the severity of the contravention.


High and Low Level Contraventions

There is a single, nationwide list of contraventions and associated code numbers, which is revised from time to time. However not all contraventions are necessarily applicable in every authority’s enforcement area.

Example Higher Level Contraventions

On-Street
Parked in a restricted street during prescribed hours
Parked or loading /unloading in a restricted street where waiting and loading/unloading restrictions are in force
Parked in a residents parking space without clearly displaying a valid residents parking permit
Vehicle parked more than 50cm from the edge of the carriageway and not within a designated parking place (new contravention)
Parked adjacent to a dropped footway-kerb (new contravention)
Parked in a permit space without displaying a valid permit
Parked in a designated disabled person’s parking place without clearly displaying a valid disabled person’s badge
Parked on a taxi rank
Stopped on a restricted bus stop/stand
A heavy commercial vehicle wholly or partly parked on a footway, verge or land between two carriageways
Parked with one or more wheels on any part of an urban road other than a carriageway (footway parking)

Off-Street (Car Parks)
Parked in a restricted area in a car park
Parked in a permit bay without clearly displaying a valid permit
Parked in a disabled person’s parking space without clearly displaying a valid disabled person’s badge
Parked in a car park or area not designated for that class of vehicle
Parked causing an obstruction

Example Lower Level Contraventions

On-Street
Re-parked in the same parking place within one hour (or other specified time) of leaving
Not parked correctly within the markings of the bay or space
Parked for longer than permitted
Off-Street (Car Parks)
Parked for longer than the maximum period permitted
Parked after the expiry of paid for time
Parked in a car park without clearly displaying a valid pay and display ticket
Parked beyond the bay markings

New Contraventions

Enforcement of Double Parking and at Dropped Kerbs

The Traffic Management Act 2004 enables enforcement authorities to enforce double parking and parking at dropped kerbs.
In summary the prohibition of double parking is where a vehicle, when parked in a designated parking place, is parked further than 50 centimetres from the edge of the carriageway. This is however subject to a number of exceptions.
The prohibition of parking at dropped kerbs also includes parking across vehicle entrances. Again this is subject to a number of exceptions, including where a vehicle is parked across a vehicle entrance with the property owner’s permission.
Draft operational guidance originally issued by the Department for Transport stated that, unlike most parking restrictions, the prohibition of parking at dropped kerbs did not need to be signed. However recent redrafted guidance now states that dropped kerbs must be signed where enforcement is to be undertaken. But as there is no such authorised sign for this situation the Department for Transport has to review this matter further.
It is therefore recommended that Councils do not adopt this optional enforcement provision until the signage requirements have been clarified by the Department for Transport.

Serving of Penalty Charge Notices by Post

Under the current legislation a Penalty Charge Notice must either be fixed to the vehicle or given to the person who appears to be in charge of the vehicle. But under the Traffic Management Act 2004 a Penalty Charge Notice may be served if:

The contravention has been detected on the basis of evidence from an approved device (cctv).

The Enforcement Officer has been prevented from serving the PCN by the vehicle driver through intimidation, threats or actual physical force.

The vehicle is driven away before the Enforcement Officer has completed preparing and serving the notice.

Relevant legislation..

Traffic Management Act 2004 (c. 1

The Civil Enforcement of Parking Contraventions (England) Representations and Appeals Regulations 2007 No. 3482

The Civil Enforcement of Parking Contraventions (England) General Regulations 2007 No. 3483
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post Wed, 13 Feb 2008 - 16:42
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Slow Driver
post Wed, 13 Feb 2008 - 17:05
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Actually it's happening on 31st March (according to some sources but there is still some confustion about this). Also from that date we will be able to continue with a PCN that never hit the windscreen by serving it via the postal system.

It's causing a few headaches for various authorities too as they're having to upgrade computer systems to cope with 2 types of PCN - Old and New at least within the parking service offices. PAs (CEOs as we will be then) will just have an extra button or two on the handheld - At least thats what we've been told but so far all the software companies are being a little vague too.

Take a look at http://www.langsys.co.uk - They used to be called Langdale. Now they're being vague about who they are and what they do and they are one of the biggest players in the public parking sector.

This post has been edited by Slow Driver: Wed, 13 Feb 2008 - 17:10
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starlet108
post Wed, 13 Feb 2008 - 17:29
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And every dodgy warden must be rubbing his hands in glee !!! Why bother putting yourself at risk to serve a PCN properly when from March, all they need is details of a vehicle - enter 'driver abusive PCN not served' and the first anyone will know is when it arrives through the post. That is WRONG - why should a driver have to prove his innocence even when there is no evidence of him even seeing a warden let alone abusing him or driving away.
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Slow Driver
post Wed, 13 Feb 2008 - 19:28
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QUOTE (starlet108 @ Wed, 13 Feb 2008 - 17:29) *
And every dodgy warden must be rubbing his hands in glee !!! Why bother putting yourself at risk to serve a PCN properly when from March, all they need is details of a vehicle - enter 'driver abusive PCN not served' and the first anyone will know is when it arrives through the post. That is WRONG - why should a driver have to prove his innocence even when there is no evidence of him even seeing a warden let alone abusing him or driving away.



I completely agree. I'm a PA and I see the potential for others to misuse this new power. It is worrying how this country has abolished "Innocent until proven guilty". Now thanks to this government you are "Guilty until proven innocent.. and good luck trying because you've been stitched up!" All the hardwork that us few decent PAs do to be fair and try to improve our image is now being ruined by the government who are now making us all look bad.

Although I personally do think this new power will be useful for those odd tickets where the driver is really abusive, I am concerned that the government has made it too easy. As usual, they've not investigated it thoroughly enough to understand what they are doing. They've just bashed out a simple kwik fix and left the resulting mess for another politician to deal with in the future. Obviously if the PA has photos, a description of the driver and even CCTV backup then yes I can see a postal PCN as being fair. Otherwise I think NPAS are going to be very busy soon.

This post has been edited by Slow Driver: Wed, 13 Feb 2008 - 19:29
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clark_kent
post Wed, 13 Feb 2008 - 20:38
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QUOTE (starlet108 @ Wed, 13 Feb 2008 - 17:29) *
And every dodgy warden must be rubbing his hands in glee !!! Why bother putting yourself at risk to serve a PCN properly when from March, all they need is details of a vehicle - enter 'driver abusive PCN not served' and the first anyone will know is when it arrives through the post. That is WRONG - why should a driver have to prove his innocence even when there is no evidence of him even seeing a warden let alone abusing him or driving away.



You are incorrect under the new law you cannot send a PCN through the post to an abusive driver, only a driver who has driven away. The power to send one to a driver who threatens the PA has been in place since 1991.
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nimh999
post Wed, 13 Feb 2008 - 21:02
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QUOTE (starlet108 @ Wed, 13 Feb 2008 - 17:29) *
And every dodgy warden must be rubbing his hands in glee !!! Why bother putting yourself at risk to serve a PCN properly when from March, all they need is details of a vehicle - enter 'driver abusive PCN not served' and the first anyone will know is when it arrives through the post.


And this bit is the most sinister part. Approved devices.

It won't be long before every Enforcement Officer (they have even given them new names) will have an approved device strapped to their forehead. Like a big d*ck sticking out. This will be a video camera of some sort wired to a recording device. They won't even have to write the ticket out. They will be able to think the ticket onto the mainframe like they did in the past with phantom PCN's. This time though they will be legal.

QUOTE (borsicorn @ Wed, 13 Feb 2008 - 16:42) *
[*]The power to undertake enforcement by cameras (approved devices which have to be certified by the Secretary of State), and to send Penalty Charge Notices by post with such evidence.


Watch out for slow driver, clark kent et al with their approved devices.


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starlet108
post Wed, 13 Feb 2008 - 21:13
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My mistake merror.gif I misunderstood this part of the changes ' The power to serve Penalty Charge Notices by post if an enforcement officer has started to issue it but the vehicle is driven away before it has been served and in instances of where a driver prevents an officer serving a notice by way of making threats.'

It may well have been in place since 1991 to send a PCN through the post to an abusive driver but companies training PA's will tell them differently. Even when a driver has been abusive, unless the PCN was actually completed, tax detals taken and photographs taken then it was deemed to be a VDA and the PCN void. It was looked on as not being worth persuing and cancelled at the end of shift.

Whatever the current rules, I can only see this part of a PA being able to continue with a ticket even when the vehicle has been driven away will cause even more dodgy tickets to be produced by some wardens - especially those in the London area's with targets to meet daily.
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Slow Driver
post Wed, 13 Feb 2008 - 21:34
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QUOTE (nimh999 @ Wed, 13 Feb 2008 - 21:02) *
Watch out for slow driver, clark kent et al with their approved devices.


Trust me, the day they ever fix something to my hat with ANPR onboard, I'll be pointing the thing to the ground by carrying my hat due to excessive sweat!

On a similar note though, Manchester was trialling video cameras in their hats for evidencial purposes..

QUOTE (starlet108 @ Wed, 13 Feb 2008 - 21:13) *
Whatever the current rules, I can only see this part of a PA being able to continue with a ticket even when the vehicle has been driven away will cause even more dodgy tickets to be produced by some wardens - especially those in the London area's with targets to meet daily.



You are right. I refuse to drive into london as it is due to their ways of working, red lines everywhere and congestion charges etc. Infact I don't actually go inside of the M25 at all. Now this has come up I myself am starting to get nervous as a motorist outside of london. Legally you can set down and pickup passengers on yellow lines. I do it frequently but with this new power it makes me wonder how long it will be before some power hungry twat books me by post!
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Glacier2
post Wed, 13 Feb 2008 - 21:35
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Westminister wardens must be delighted by the new rules.
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nimh999
post Wed, 13 Feb 2008 - 21:48
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QUOTE (Slow Driver @ Wed, 13 Feb 2008 - 21:34) *
QUOTE (nimh999 @ Wed, 13 Feb 2008 - 21:02) *
Watch out for slow driver, clark kent et al with their approved devices.


Trust me, the day they ever fix something to my hat with ANPR onboard
Not to your hat silly.

They are going to drill a hole in your head. Every day when you clock on you are going to have to screw the CCTV approved device to your head. This will also be Sat Nav and tracking device. This way they will be able to serve the PCN's without you even touching your keypad because the images will be transmitted back to base by satellite and the mainframe will know exactly where you are and automatically generate the PCN.
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clark_kent
post Wed, 13 Feb 2008 - 21:58
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QUOTE (Glacier2 @ Wed, 13 Feb 2008 - 21:35) *
Westminister wardens must be delighted by the new rules.



Westminster is getting rid of a large amount of its on street PAs and instead using 'approved devices' CCTV to use its common name to enforce.
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Slow Driver
post Wed, 13 Feb 2008 - 23:25
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QUOTE (nimh999 @ Wed, 13 Feb 2008 - 21:48) *
QUOTE (Slow Driver @ Wed, 13 Feb 2008 - 21:34) *
QUOTE (nimh999 @ Wed, 13 Feb 2008 - 21:02) *
Watch out for slow driver, clark kent et al with their approved devices.


Trust me, the day they ever fix something to my hat with ANPR onboard
Not to your hat silly.

They are going to drill a hole in your head. Every day when you clock on you are going to have to screw the CCTV approved device to your head. This will also be Sat Nav and tracking device. This way they will be able to serve the PCN's without you even touching your keypad because the images will be transmitted back to base by satellite and the mainframe will know exactly where you are and automatically generate the PCN.




Lol... Actually your not far off, the next generation of handhelds are rumoured to have GPS tracking and a live connection to the base via GPRS in real time sad.gif
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whitewing
post Wed, 13 Feb 2008 - 23:42
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QUOTE
Decriminalised Parking Enforcement (DPE) to be called Civil Parking Enforcement.[/font]

So will they now be issuing "Civil Penalty Notices"..? Maybe the PPCs will send them invoices for infringing their copyright on the term....

QUOTE
Parking Attendants to be called Civil Enforcement Officers (CEO)


However I doubt this will make them behave in a more Civil way....

QUOTE
The vehicle is driven away before the Enforcement Officer has completed preparing and serving the notice.


Surely if the reason for posting a PCN is that the car drove away, they need to provide evidence that this occurred....
And of course nowadays it is increasingly hard for them to argue a contravention if they don't have a photo of it as there is no excuse for them not to carry digital cameras.
Could be some interesting PATAS cases coming up, unless they crumple under the weight of new cases.
Wonder if there might be any EU Human rights issues raised by this....
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Slow Driver
post Thu, 14 Feb 2008 - 00:06
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QUOTE (whitewing @ Wed, 13 Feb 2008 - 23:42) *
Could be some interesting PATAS cases coming up, unless they crumple under the weight of new cases.


Without a doubt they will. As mentioned further up in this thread, the dodgy PAs out there will be trippling their ticket numbers i reckon..
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Nimbus
post Thu, 14 Feb 2008 - 00:50
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QUOTE
(whitewing @ Wed, 13 Feb 2008 - 23:42)
Could be some interesting PATAS cases coming up, unless they crumple under the weight of new cases.


Seems adjudicators will have the power to refer appeals back to the Authority for reconsideration. May create a whole new British pastime called "Penalty Charge Notice Appeal Ping Pong".

Irrespective of whether a dodgy TA claims driver abusive as an excuse to get a postal issue, it's now going to be a very simple matter for a bent TA to merely note the vehicle reg number of a car stopping on dyl's to drop off a passenger say, and hey presto, another ticket (il)legally issued PCN winging its way to a letter box near you. It's a forgone conclusion that there's going to be a massive increase in the number of PCN's issued.

Parking wardens 'having common sense drummed into them' That'll be the day! No offence Slow Driver.

This post has been edited by Nimbus: Thu, 14 Feb 2008 - 05:10
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starlet108
post Thu, 14 Feb 2008 - 09:13
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Exactly right. I've seen too many dodgy wardens at work. There are so many ways for them to exploit this one. Whats to stop them just taking a photo of your car driving past and THEN issuing the ticket to it ?? Providing the photo is taken 5 minutes either side of the ticket time it will be valid (not that it bothers some of the wardens - there are those who will change the camera settings accordingly anyway), write in their notes that driver prevented them reading tax details and hey presto, a valid postal ticket. It's gonna be a nightmare.
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ncmoody
post Thu, 14 Feb 2008 - 09:57
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If you got a ticket stating you had driven off etc. could you use an FOI request to get the percentage of tickets issued by that CEO that alleged offences by the driver. A large percentage would indicate a problem with that CEO and may allow you to show 'on balance of probabilities' that they were telling porkies.
Counter a refusal to supply with a 'what are you hiding' response, as I fail to see how a PII defence would hold water.
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clark_kent
post Thu, 14 Feb 2008 - 19:30
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QUOTE (starlet108 @ Thu, 14 Feb 2008 - 09:13) *
Exactly right. I've seen too many dodgy wardens at work. There are so many ways for them to exploit this one. Whats to stop them just taking a photo of your car driving past and THEN issuing the ticket to it ?? Providing the photo is taken 5 minutes either side of the ticket time it will be valid (not that it bothers some of the wardens - there are those who will change the camera settings accordingly anyway), write in their notes that driver prevented them reading tax details and hey presto, a valid postal ticket. It's gonna be a nightmare.



I think you suffer from some kind of paranoia? What difference does the driving away make if the PA is that obsessed with making up tickets he could just do it now. Do you really think a PA would bother wasting time spending half the day trying to reset camera and computer settings to issue to a car driving down the street. They are going to be far too busy issuing to all the idiots who have got used to parking illegally and driving away as a PCN was being issued. How many drivers will now get caught popping into the bank or the paper shop and parking on a yellow line, thousands I would imagine until compliance improves.
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starlet108
post Thu, 14 Feb 2008 - 19:53
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I find your attitude typical of most parking attendants - abrupt and RUDE !!! Far from suffering from paranoia, I've actually been unfortunate enough have to work alongside some of these dodgy wardens. Where the average ticket count per PA was between 16 & 20, these guys were never happy until they had returned to base with 48 + tickets - all done by changing equipment settings and issuing dodgy tickets !!! It's wrong and it's part of the reason I got out of parking enforcement when I did. With the best will in the world, guys like this will never get enough on genuine drive aways alone and the new rules are just making it easier for them.
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clark_kent
post Thu, 14 Feb 2008 - 20:13
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QUOTE (starlet108 @ Thu, 14 Feb 2008 - 19:53) *
average ticket count per PA was between 16 & 20, these guys were never happy until they had returned to base with 48 + tickets - all done by changing equipment settings and issuing dodgy tickets !!!


How would changing the time on a PDA make him issue more tickets, the only advantage it would have would be to issue to pay and displays before they had expired in real time but this would be exposed as soon as a driver returned to find a PCN issued 5-10 mins before the actual time. If you are suggesting it would be to fabricate observation times, it would take longer to reset the time (if it was possible) and then reset it again than the actual time it would take to observe the vehicle genuinely. Constant time changes would also show up as the PA would for ever be in several locations or issuing different PCNs at the same time which is physically impossible.
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