The thing no-one seems to have mentioned is that for any parking ticket to be valid, the road markings have to comply with regulations.

The regulations regarding road markings (TSR's - Traffic Signs Regulations) clearly state "no variations". As most of the parking bays / double-yellows i see day-to-day, even without carrying a measuring-tape, are visibly non-compliant, any ticket issued is hence unenforceable.

http://www.opsi.gov.uk/SI/si2002/20023113.htm

Maybe the councils should put the money they earn back into painting the road markings correctly, thus ensuring that tickets are valid in the first place!

Chris Jones, Birmingham, UK

This has very little to do with regulating traffic and parking and everything to do with raising revenue and extortion.

It just drives a further wedge between those who make the rules (and allegedly represent us), and the vast majority of people in the country.

I am sure that many drivers will deal with it by having illegible, broken or false number plates.

Rob, Wirral, UK

At a cost of more than £20,000 for this type of camera equipment I am very surprised that more cameras aren't being stolen; in Manchester the number of CCTV cameras being stolen is reaching epidemic proportions.

The weakness in SPECS is at the root, chop the damn thing down - the steel in the post is well worth the effort!

Let's hope this crimewave strikes other parts of the UK.

Harry, London,

What will academics in 100 years time make of the Beatles song Lovely Rita?

And how will they explain the opening scene of Joe Orton's Loot?

David Moss, London, UK

This is wrong, wrong wrong and we should act against it. It is a misuse of CCTV's - I am in favour of them in use against crime but a social offence such as parking is a blatent misuse and will further undermine the confidence and trust-worthiness of local and national government and the police.

Tim Murray, London,

Make a stand people! Kick nulab out at the first opportunity. Fuel now over £1.10 per litre & rising because they know we will just moan & pay up! Same with parking.

Steven Brown, Chesterfield,

The opportunity to end our national suffering is approaching, in the form of a General Election and the remedy is in our hands.We should push for legislation for a maximum of two terms of office for the elected government ,as we know from bitter experience that ,with the advent of the proffesional politician,once they get towards the end of their second term and into a third term they think that they can walk on water and start to abuse the system and milk it.With the present crew,I doubt if many of them,if they hadn't been elected,would qualify for a job paying above the minimum wage.

Josh Martin, Oxford, Gt.Britain

As if the Council TAX, TV Licence FEES, 0870 numbers and Billions of £££s generated by Parking attendents was not enough to ripp off Britons. Well done Labour; Squeeze Hard Mr Brown you have to get the last penny out of peoples pockets, You waited 10 years for this job....I am lucky that I am not there any more to enjoy all this...

Adnan, New Jersey, USA

Our once honourable public services are now staffed by bullies and thieves, backed up by their corrupt masters in the House of Commons, who won't be satisfied until they have criminalised the entire population.

I just hope the Tories get the message that we won't tolerate them keeping up these measures when we finally manage to get rid of NuLab. If they promised to take down the speed cameras they'd be sure of a landslide.

Bev, Bucks, UK

Stealth Tax #3721 in a series of 10000.

Thanks Gordon.

Jeremy Poynton, Frome, Somerset

and they wonder why theft of number plates is on the rise

DAVID FENN, luton, uk

Now we have seen the function creep on CCTV, i.e. going from a security measure (of questionable effectiveness in reduction in crime etc) to a ruthlessly efficient revenue generator.

Now imagine when we get our nice shiny ID cards imposed on us by this vile government, the possibilities are endless for 'function creep'. The authorities, general busy body council nosy non-jobs will have a great tool for helping to enforce 'general social policy' whatever that will be. Linked with CCTV, quite a powerful tool. Sounds fanciful but fast approaching I'm afraid.

Neil H, Hampshire, UK

There are so many insidious layers of this legislation. But one of the most disturbing elements is changing the title of these operatives from Parking Attendants to Civil Enforcement Officers.

Given this change in title, these same individuals, in years to come will doubtless be given all sorts of other powers and ticket the public for all sorts of other minor infringements.

Where will it all end? Probably in a State dominated by CCTV cameras in the air and Scrutinisers on the ground, dishing out penalties at will!

This country was once a lovely place to live in. Whatever happened? We lived beyond 1984!

David Weedall, Brighton, East Sussex

In September last year, Jacqui Smith (the Home Secretary) attended the Police Superintendents' Association of England and Wales annual conference [1]. The theme this year was the "New Normality".

She didn't mention CCTV cameras issuing parking fines but, in a lyrical passage in her speech [2], the did extol the merits of something she calls "virtual courts", an example of "how we can push the boundaries of 21st century crime fighting even further", coming soon to a magistrate's court near you.

Virtual courts will presumably dispense virtual justice, the boundaries of which are fast receding ... from our memories if not the 21st century.

Welcome, everyone, to the new normality.

----------
1. http://www.policesupers.com/uploads/news/PRESIDENT.doc
2. http://www.policesupers.com/news/full.asp?id=77&news=227

David Moss, London, UK

Oh good, another tax because there are not enough already.

Paul, Andover,

I have noticed a growing campaign against the humble motorist, I was in Dewsbury driving five miles an hour over the speed limit and I got stung for a three points and a sixty pound fine (a little excessive don't you think?). The cost of parking outside my place of work has risen steadily (the 2 hour disc zone that worked so well has been replaced with £7.80 per day pay & display meters with Traffic Warden's wandering around like vultures). I wouldn't mind if it was quicker, easier, cheaper, more conveniant or more comfortable to use public transport but usually it isn't, outr public transport system is a joke, an expensive poorly maintained joke. It now costs more to go to london by train than it does to fly to Germany, there's something very wrong with that.

Rob Lindsay, Wallasey,

We'll soon reach the point where computers will be fining computers, what with humans having long done a bunk from this green and pleasant land. Emigration is picking up momentum: I wonder why?

Escapee, Macau,

The relentless march to an all encompassing surveillance state takes another step. It is going to be used eventually for the most innocuous of crimes, but serious crime is sidelined in the pursuit of revenue and compliance with state propaganda.
'Ministers said that the changes would make parking enforcement “fairer and more transparent”.' - Just like their expenses no doubt?

To quote Eddie Izzard in the recycling advert “ The possibilities are eeeendless”. Enjoy your freedom – but keep looking over your shoulder and hope the postman doesn't come to your door too often.

winstonian, Darlington, UK

This will certainly cut down on staff costs.

But does it go far enough?

Why is there still a letter involved? Slow and labour-intensive, wouldn't it be more efficient simply to take the fine out of the car-owner's bank account by direct debit?

And why wait until an offence is committed? This unnecessarily delays the transfer of funds, leaving the government in the meantime to bear unaided the entire cost of carry for the national road system.

Modern profiling methods can surely identify those likeliest to commit a parking offence. The government could take intelligent, pre-emptive action, merely a case of recognising the inevitable, just a little earlier than we are used to.

David Moss, London, UK

Another step closer to when the people will start ripping cameras off the walls.

Cromwell, Leeds, England

In my town the traffic wardens come in a car together at 7 am on Sunday morning into our residential district where nobody minds people parking all over the place at the weekend just so they can book people and then drive to another residential area to do the same thing.

They provide no service at all. It is a scam. I am lucky to have off road parking but lots of people in my area don't.

And John Meyer, since we seem to have no say at all about the restrictions and charges levied upon us I am not sure why I should feel any sympathy with your position. If we were clearly allowed to state how we wanted parking in our town managed then he might have a point, but essentially he is just playing his part in developing a Police State in the UK where everyone is criminalised without having any say about what constitutes a crime.

Peter, Maidstone,

Legislation to allow the use of CCTV images to issue parking tickets shows a fundamental flaw in the approach to legislation. Parking restrictions should be enforced, which a traffic warden or policeman can do by telling a motorist to move his vehicle, or by simply being physically present. Using CCTV images to issue fines after the event does nothing to enforce restrictions, but does plenty to rake in money. Surely legislation should be enforced rather than allowed to be broken so that local authorities can profit by it.

Perhaps parking legislation should be changed so that if a parking ticket is successfully challenged the Council that issued the ticket should be required to pay the penalty amount to the motorist.

Immanuel Burton, London,

Southampton City Council has increased parking charges twice in the past 12 months and has also increasesd the hours the charges apply for. This includes car parks that serve mostly sports clubs. It is unjustified to increase the policing of parking without placing more controls on the incompitent money grabing councils that control them.

Dean , Southampton, England

In St Margaret’s, Twickenham, the council used taxpayers money to erect a cctv camera near the station. They said that the camera was going to be used to combat antisocial behaviour in the area. I have seen little evidence of the latter, however the number of parking tickets issued in that particular vicinity rose 900% from the year before ! My guess is, that this quiet intersection will now be designated a ' danger area for wardens ', so that the council can continue to empty the pockets of the motorist.

Ben, Twickenham,

Thank you Mr Meyers,as you say you are a veteran of parking services for 20 years and the system that you and others like you have drawn up is so fair and honest that three,quartesr of all appeals against parking fines is found in favour of the driver. Now dosent that tell us something about your systems and the rules you and others havee put in place, perhaps you could get a job driving the bus you want us all to get.

A.Mitchell, Merseyside,

I'm 75 and in my younger days people used to stick-up for themselves,but now they just take whats thrown at them.I suppose the goverment need so much money to pay themselves exorbintant expences,benefits to people who don't want to work,billions to fight in practically every war that comes along.Its no wonder their trying to raise money by any means.

Bob Madsen, Rainham, Uk

Thats amazing that CCTV is only JUST about to become a tool for spotting illegally parked cars to issue tickets. I say amazing because when I was in Brixton 2 years ago I stopped in a road to ask directions, I didnt get out of the car and I was stationary for 90 seconds. 2 weeks later I received a ticket from the council in question with CCTV stills as evidence of my illegal parking.

Suffice to say I contested the fine on the fact that I was not parked but merely asking for directions. Is was never moved on by a traffic warden and I never saw a traffic warden. I didn't even know that they couldn't use CCTV stills as proof. Goes to show that some councils have been screwing over motorists for ages and issuing tickets illegally.I can see this practice been used a whole lot more, especially in London. More councils paint more yellow lines and introduce more parking restrictions and issue less residents permits thus increasing more incidences that require a fine. Poor motorists I say.

Mark Websper, Margate, Kent

Here we go again. We really are in a police state now and nobody is stopping these bullying ministers. Whatever happened to parliamentary democracy? Lets get together and chuck them out soon

Peter Groves, Surbiton, England

New? I got a parking ticket on the basis of CCTV footage six months ago (and yes i checked the legislation and it was, unfortunately, entirely legitimate - the ticket, not my parking)

JD, London,

For someone who has been working in parking management for so long, John M Meyer seems very naive, as his list forgets one thing - the fact that there are a sizable number of "parking attendants" who issue tickets illegally and dishonestly, as can be seen whenever undercover documentaries are made about parking enforcement officials.

Alex, London,

What places would be safe enough for motorists to commint an offence but too dangerous for wardens?

John Rushton, Chippenham,

Parking fines are a stealth tax, so here's an idea. Let's have a "parking Tax" paid monthly. the authorities can then line their coffers without hassle and we can be left to park where and when we like. This will also lead to a reduction in heart related incidents due to citizens openeing the post and discovering unbeknown parking fines.

Hamad Lone, London, England

so what's to stop a parking attendant issuing false penalties now?

You get a penalty in the post 2-3 weeks later, how on earth can you prove you were never there?

This is a disgrace.

Pete, Bristol, UK

It all started when the Government abolished the Constitution to win the case against the Metric Martyrs.

We need an appeal against the judgement that Parliament can amend any law including the Magna Carta and the Bill of Rights.

Brian Gilbert, HAMPTON, Middx

actually, mr smartypants meyer, that's not true now. local authority parking enforcement personnel will slap tickets on cars for non-existent infringements; what's more, the people's republic of southwark council already use cameras to justify issuing tickets by remote control.
need one say more?

grindles, london, england

John of Parking Management, thank you so much for your self-righteous primer on parking regulations. Most enlightening, I can assure you, but hardly the point. Once again, the all-seeing, all-knowing government has its (electronic) eye on the lowly peasants, just waiting for them to put a foot wrong. Thank God we have fine, upstanding individuals like yourself to show us the error of our ways.

C. Heathcote, Tonbridge,

Where in the new legislation is the requirement for councils to provide sufficient suitable parking at a reasonable price?

Approfondi, Bristol,

How can cameras detect ablue badge?

Alwx , Wycombe, UK

1984 was really quite benign.

Trevor D. Evans, Drulingen,

And to think, we were sold the concept of CCTV camera's to cut down on muggings and assaults. It turns out they are just a revenue system for the government.

Arthur, Newcastle,

New Labour taxing tax payers. (yet again). Oh doesn't it make you feel all warm and patriotic.? Me neither.

Lets all clear off and leave Labour to the people who vote Labour.

Bon Voyage.

Stella, Salford, UK

As a 20 year veteran of Parking Management I have a simple solution to all drivers:-
The simple way for drivers to avoid receiving Penalty Charge Notices is:-
To comply with the local parking regulations!
Don’t stay over the paid for time in permitted Parking Places.
Don’t park your vehicles on restricted parking places such as Single Yellow Lines, Double Yellow Lines or on Loading Bans!
If you are not a permit holder don’t park in “Permit Holder’s bays”
Don’t use your Aunt’s Disable Parking Badge if your Aunt is not with you in the car!
Parents on the School Run please don’t park on the yellow zig-zags outside your child’s school!
And under the new TMA regulations don’t commit moving traffic violations .... which are already illegal!
If you are not capable of following the published Highway Code ... leave your car at home and use a bus or learn the law of the land before you get behind the wheel!

John M Meyer, Hoylake, Wirral, Cheshire

"I am from the Government, and I am here to help you," the man said. And we believed him!

When the Government began placing cameras everywhere, we were told that they were there to protect us. Now with more than 4 million of them, they have made Britain the most spied upon nation in the world.

First, the traffic cameras were turned into an revenue-raising instrument. Now the Government is turning to even more money to take money from the people.

And crime continues!

Bob Evans, Anaheim, California