Parking Ticket!

[Jamesnel]

Hi there,

I just got a parking ticket for parking on a single yellow during 'restricted hours'! Has anybody got an idea how I can get out of it? Or does anybody know where I can find a website which lists the actual rules the councils have to follow to be able to enforce the yellow line? I can find plenty of websites that will tell me what I want 'for a fee'.... but if I pay and their info doesn't help, the whole thing will just end up costing me more!

Any help most defiantely welcomed!!

Thanks,

James

 

[sooper coop]

Appeals.com I think its called.

it will no doubt be a battle

your taking their profit. ;-)

Good luck ) i have succeeded before.

 

[andy_k]

hang on......

the quickest way to get out of it is to pay the bill

sorry to sound unsympathetic but it's hardly rocket science - before you leave your car on a single yellow line you check the restrictions.

Andy

 

[pascal]

I just got a parking ticket for parking on a single yellow during 'restricted hours'!

Em. Was there a sign on the road stating restrictions. When I used to live in London there was little lines at right angle to the yellow line. Either one, two or three. They each meant different restrictions (cannot remember, is it not in the HC). Has all that changed now?

Pascal

Ps: If youre guilty, pay up and be glad you weren't clamped or towed away.
BTW; I appealed one in a Dublin court ten years ago, and won. I lost a half a day, but it was worth it to be able to question the Garda. I appealed cause the ticket was written wrongly and the judge had no choice only to quash the summons.

 

[996jimbo]

If it is your local authority doing the enforcement I would go and ask them what their rules are that they are enforcing; it's not a secret.

You seem to assume that it is necessarily possible to get out of paying the fine - is this because you don't feel you were fairly ticketed, or because you're a born optimist?

Best of luck anyway!

 

[nicky]

You are admitting that you where on the yellow line in a restricted area,so why not pay the fine and just put it down to experiance..

 

[ColinG]

Hi James, single yellow as a rule of thumb gives you 20 minutes providing you can prove you are legitimately loading or unloading your vehicle to a nearby address. Documented proof should get you off a fine, if you can`t supply anything and you`re in a private car you may be best to shut up and pay up.
Good luck. Colin (recently quit central London delivery driver)

 

[SLinKyjoe]

and check that all the details on the itcket are accurate. if they are not they cant force you to pay....I know, thats how I got off mine from Milton Keynes. Not that i was parked illegally anyway.

 

[pascal]

I must be losing it. I thought I posted this earlier.

The pictures of the one and two blips beside the single yellow line

Well here goes again. The loading excuse is normally only allowed for commercial vehicles.

[font=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Double yellow lines mean that parking is restricted 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (in other words ?at any time?). With effect from 31 January 2003 councils are not required to erect a sign plate to accompany an ?at any time? restriction. In some areas, (for example holiday resorts), the ?at any time? restriction may apply for only part of the year, although this must be for at least four consecutive months. In these cases a sign, showing the duration of the restriction, will be erected.[/font]

[font=Times New Roman, Times, serif]A single yellow line on the road means that, at some time of the day, there will be parking restrictions.[/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]If the single yellow line is within a controlled parking zone, you can assume that it operates for the same time as the zone unless separate time plates show different times. A Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) is an area where parking is restricted by Traffic Regulation Orders (Traffic Management Orders in London), in accordance with signs placed on all vehicular entry points to the area (except in designated parking bays or where otherwise signed).[/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]For example, in a controlled parking zone which runs from 8.30 am to 6.30 pm, a yellow line without any separate time plates will be operational at those times and a driver may not park. An exception to this rule allows a passenger to get in or out of the car, although the driver should not leave the car, unless the passenger is disabled and needs assistance or is a young child. [/font]

[font=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Guidelines for loading and unloading:[/font]

• [font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Drivers are usually allowed to stop to load or unload. If the items are heavy or bulky or if the driver has a large number of items which would involve more than one trip, the car is allowed to wait on the yellow line. But the car should be moved and parked legally when the loading or unloading is finished.
  [/font]
• [font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Commercial vehicles are allowed to collect and deliver goods. If any paperwork needs to be checked, such as delivery notes or invoices, the time this takes can be included in the loading/unloading time allowed. Obviously, the vehicle must be moved after the delivery or collection has taken place.
  [/font]
• [font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Loading is not permitted at places where the parked car could cause an obstruction, such as within 10 metres of a junction.
  [/font]
• [font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Sometimes, within a parking place, there is a yellow line called a ?loading gap?. The same rules as above apply to this yellow line.
  [/font]
• [font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Often there will be yellow ?blips? on the kerb. These warn that there is a loading restriction. Two ?blips? mean no loading ?at any time?. One ?blip? means that loading is restricted at certain times, as shown on a white plate. Even Blue Badge holders with badges and time clocks are not allowed to park where there are loading restrictions in force.[/font]

 

[turnipsock]

You should be shot for bring the marque into disrepute by parking illegally.

Was there something on the lamp posts stating the restrictions? If so, were they damaged in anyway such that you couldn't read them correctly.

An argument i use when parking in disabled spaces at Tescos is, 'All the free spaces were miles away and I had some shopping to carry'.

Were there any free spaces? if not then you have to park somewhere don't you!

(I'm sure there is a flaw in this argument, but I can't see it)

 

[TonyJones]

You should have found another car nearby with a ticket and swopped tickets..with a bit of luck the other driver may pay up!

...only joking of course :mrgreen:

 

[nicky]

You should have found another car nearby with a ticket and swopped tickets..with a bit of luck the other driver may pay up!

Yes and he could have paid his for him.....May as well have threw it in the bin....

 

[SLinKyjoe]

i was in the north yorks moors once. and going passed a car park on foot and this american tourist asked me for some advice. his car had been ticketed for illegal parking. he was in a hire car and thought he needed to go to the police station to pay. so i asked him how long he was staying in our country.he was due to go back to the US in 5 days..i pointed at the magic post box where, if you post your ticket without payment, it magically disappears. he eventually caught on and posted it. I wished him a happy visit. wonder if they ever caught up with him?

 

[pascal]

You can be sure the fine was taken off his credit card by the hire firm.

 

[TonyJones]

You should have found another car nearby with a ticket and swopped tickets..with a bit of luck the other driver may pay up!

Yes and he could have paid his for him.....May as well have threw it in the bin....

I never did understand women!

 

[Jamesnel]

Hey Guys... thanks for all the input!!

I should maybe have made it clearer in my original post that I'm not trying to get out of the ticket because I'm too tight to pay!! Basically the area that I parked in was one of those awkward "park for an hour, but only at certain times" bays that you get in some areas. The area is basically marked out as parking bays, but also has a yellow line! My main reason for thinking that I should have a crack at appealing is because there was no sign within the area covered by the bay explaining the restrictions. I asked the warden and he showed me the sign.... which was about 40m down the road, and not even within the confines of the bay in which I parked.

I've looked into it, and I think I at least have a bit of a case, but now my problem is trying to find out if Barnet Council suspend the 14-day half-price payment (i.e. £40 instead of £80) during an appeal. Apparently it is up to individual councils, and when I try to call them I get through to a computer wanting me to input my ticket reference and credit card number!!

I also apologise profusely for bringing shame on the marque by getting a ticket.... anyone would think I drive a BMW!

 

[SLinKyjoe]

You need to act quickly. if you question the fine you will be held liable for the full amount £80. the discount for quick payers, is to stop people appealing everything. Go down to the council parking enforecment people and enquire.

the only other alternative is to pay up and appeal at the same time, using the view that you are paying out of good faith as you didnt realise you broke the law and wouldn't wish to, but you feel that, in your case, it has been applied unfairly and you wish to have it investigated. You will get your money back if you are successful and only lose the £40 if you are unsuccessful.. Dont **** them off by submitting photo's. did you take a photo of the car in situ with the ticket on. if you havent you will not get anywhere! but go collect all information reagrding the area you parked in. take a good look at the sign you were shown. then go explain all to a solictor on a free 30min session. They will advise you as to whether you have a claim or not and your chances of success. but you will need to pay the £40 to avoid paying the full amount.

The Law is there to protect you, so if you have anything which produces and element of unfairness the council will reasses your bill and not bother claiming it. It is not worth it to them to enforce something which could be disputed. Advice, advice advice. thats what you need and quick.

£40 is not too bad. You could by a BMW for that.

 

[turnipsock]

as an aside, if you want to **** them off, send them £41 and ask them to donate the extra £1 to the charity of there choice. This gives them a lot of compicated extra work in the accounts dept.

 

[Jamesnel]

Alrighty... I decided to make the most of having absolutely nothing to do on a Bank Holiday Monday and took a spin down to the scene of the crime. The facts are that there is absolutely no sign stating what the parking restrictions are within the bay inwhich I parked. There are signs stating what the parking restrictions are outside the bay (these are a bit further up the road in either direction) and a similar bay further up the road has it's own sign outlining that you cannot park within it between 7am and 10am.

I now feel that I do have a case, but does anybody out there know where the rule is written that you have to clearly sign the restrictions if they are not just a plain yellow line? I know I read it somewhere on Friday (I think it may have been somewhere in the epic novel otherwise known as the Road Traffic Act, but now I can't find it again!).

Any help really appreciated!

James

 

[SLinKyjoe]

try a google search for it (For parking rules or regulations, if you put in the road traffic act, thats what you will get) You could also try a search for web sites that have help on them.....or the highway code....plus dont forget to contact the enforcement agency or council. They will have the information you need. is your ticket written out correctly? If it isnt in anyway they are forced to let you off. and look in yellow pages for a decent solictor who may have road traffic knowledge.

are you in the RAC/ AA. or a union? they all have legal advisers that will offer you some help!