parking ticket accross own driveway!

[cheekylilmonkey]

my mum lives next to a school and there are restrictions in place between 2.30 and 3.30. When the zig zag lines were painted for these restrictions, the stupid line painters also extended the lines accross my mums drive. They have since been blacked out, but that paint has worn off and now they are yellow lines again. Mum has been in touch with the council who have confirmed 6 months ago that these lines are incorrect (obviously) and are to be removed but have not been to remove them yet.

 

Mum parked accross her drive one lunchtime and she looked out the window at 2.29 (according to her watch) and saw a parking warden on his moped issuing her a ticket. She immediately went down with her keys to question the ticket and also move her vehicle. The parking warden claimed it was 2.31 by his watch and he could therefore issue the ticket

 

My questions are:

 

1) I thought they had to see you parked illegally for 5 minutes before issuing a ticket, or is that a myth?

2) Mum has an email from the council confirming the lines should not even be over her drive, so on this basis should the council remove the ticket? They have declined her initial appeal.

 

Just to add to the joke factor os this, my mum is the only person who lives in the road and she gets a ticket, but when all the mothers in the gas guzzlers turn up at 3 and park illegally, the traffic warden is no where to be seen! and she only had to park over her drive because her road seems to be a dumping ground for a builder in the next road to dump all his vans.

[foolishgirl]

If it wasn't so frustrating this could be funny.

 

I think a tel. call to your Mum's local newspaper/TV company (particularly when they are short of personal interest stories after Xmas) might make the council see sense.

[nero12]

If it wasn't so frustrating this could be funny.

 

I think a tel. call to your Mum's local newspaper/TV company (particularly when they are short of personal interest stories after Xmas) might make the council see sense.

Did your mum include the email from the council in her informal appeal.

The jackasses in the backroom may not have realised this problem

 

Write a letter of complaint to the chief executive of your authority expalining the blunders that have happened and what they intend to do about it.

[dx100uk]

urm..

not a dropped kerb is it?

if it is then its against the highway code anyway....

 

just a thought

 

dx

[crem]

urm..

not a dropped kerb is it?

if it is then its against the highway code anyway....

 

just a thought

 

dx

 

It is only an automatic offence if the dropped kerb has a matching dropped kerb at the opposite side of the road. i.e. it is there to allow pedestrians onto the road and off the other side using wheelchairs/pushchairs.

 

For a single dropped kerb giving access to a private drive, it is not an offence to "block" your own drive, or allow a visitor to your house to block it also. Therefore, a PCN would only result from the resident complaining to the council and requesting it is enforced because the "block" is not being caused by an authorised person.

[flyingdoc]

What you need to do is to check the TRO for the yellow lines - there should be detailed description of where the lines start and stop.

 

If the TRO says the lines DO extend across your drive then the council were wrong and you still have to pay the fine.

 

If it doesnt then the lines are just paint and you have an absolute defence to the ticket.

[green_and_mean]

It is only an automatic offence if the dropped kerb has a matching dropped kerb at the opposite side of the road. i.e. it is there to allow pedestrians onto the road and off the other side using wheelchairs/pushchairs.

 

For a single dropped kerb giving access to a private drive, it is not an offence to "block" your own drive, or allow a visitor to your house to block it also. Therefore, a PCN would only result from the resident complaining to the council and requesting it is enforced because the "block" is not being caused by an authorised person.

 

That is not strictly true the contravention is parked across a dropped kerb, what you have quoted is an exemption for the resident of a private residence to allow parking across their own drive used exclusively by them. A request to enforce is not required under the TMA 2004 but as ownership of parked vehicles and any granted permission to park is rarely known a PCN is unlikely to be issued. However this would not prevent a PCN being issued if the CEO had reasonable belief that a contravention had taken place and unless proof of the exemption could be provided the PCN would stand. As an example if a CEO had been informed about a problem with a company parking their vans in a residential street and one was seen across a drive a PCN could be issued and it would be down to the driver to prove the exemption.

Drives shared by more than one property and non residential properties are also not covered by this exemption. It is not uncommon for neighbours to have their drop kerbs merged into one large drop in this situation neither neighbour is able to park even with permission of the neighbour.

Whilst on the subject it is important to note that not only dropped footways are covered but raised roadways are the same contravention, ie if the road is raised as in a speed table and there is a crossing point on it you cannot park.

[lamma]

Its not a blanket ability in the TMA. Dropped kerbs in London (SPA) are one thing but outside the situation is diferrent. The regulations for Dropped footways and double parking contain an oversight. The TMA does not include the exemption previously allowed for enforcement without signage - and there are no approved signs. They have left in place the legislation but this could be challenged. we don't know if this is inside London or not but either way your blanket assertion required further clarification.

[green_and_mean]

Its not a blanket ability in the TMA. Dropped kerbs in London (SPA) are one thing but outside the situation is diferrent. The regulations for Dropped footways and double parking contain an oversight. The TMA does not include the exemption previously allowed for enforcement without signage - and there are no approved signs. They have left in place the legislation but this could be challenged. we don't know if this is inside London or not but either way your blanket assertion required further clarification.

 

Sorry didn't mean to infere this was a dropped kerb PCN I very much doubt it is, I was just clarifying the situation regarding the contravention.

[cheekylilmonkey]

HI All

 

Thanks for your helpful comments.

 

The ticket was issued due to the the yellow zig zag line, not the dropped kerb. It is a dropped kerb for a private driveway. There is not another dropped kerb opposite.

 

The TRO says the lines shouldnt extend accross my mums drive and she has this confirmed in the email (dated June 2007!!!) and did send a copy of this email with her appeal but they have just refused it seemingly ignoring this point.

 

There has never been any complaints about the vans parked in the road as my mum feels it is a public road so at the end of the day if they are parked legally (which they do) then they are effectively doing nothing wrong. The problem that they present is that they take up all the space in the road which is not restricted parking!

 

I shall be suggesting she contacts the local papers most definetly as the whole situation is just laughable.

 

thanks again

[flyingdoc]

Appeal the ticket to the magistrates court - if you are sure about the TRO then the magistrates will have no choice but to revoke the ticket.

[Steve__M]

Magistrate's court!? This is a PCN isn't it? Not an FPN.

 

I understand from reading information from experts here that if you don't pay you get a Notice to Owner which entitles you to make a formal representation that may be taken more seriously. Beyond that you get the right to a hearing at PATAS.

[lamma]

council is on a loser then. do they outsource PCN processing ? "the amount exceeds" plus challenge the TRO. has an NTO been received ?

[nero12]

council is on a loser then. do they outsource PCN processing ? "the amount exceeds" plus challenge the TRO. has an NTO been received ?

I think they outsourced the line painting to idiots. Might have been POETS day when they blundered this one LOL

 

Lammy is correct. Challenge the council on the ticket, send a printed version of your email to the council with a complaint and get the lines removed and not painted over.

[green_and_mean]

It might be that the TRO was made to go across the drive in error so the lines may be legal even though that was not the Councils original intention when drafting the TRO.

[lamma]

Post 10 "The TRO says the lines shouldnt extend accross my mums drive and she has this confirmed in the email (dated June 2007!!!) "

[green_and_mean]

Post 10 "The TRO says the lines shouldnt extend accross my mums drive and she has this confirmed in the email (dated June 2007!!!) "

 

Sorry lost track, lol