Drivers get 18,000 parking tickets

More than 18,000 parking tickets are being handed to British drivers every day, new figures show.

Some 1.7 million vehicle keeper records were requested by parking management firms in the second quarter of 2018/19, according to RAC Foundation analysis of government data.

This is the highest total on record for one quarter and represents a 20% increase yearon-year.

Parking firms obtain records from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) to chase vehicle owners for alleged infringements in private car parks such as at shopping centres and leisure facilities.

Each resultant penalty charge can cost drivers up to £100.

A Private Member’s Bill which would lead to the introduction of a code of conduct for private car park operators was back before Parliament yesterday.

The government has committed to supporting Tory former minister Sir Greg Knight’s Parking (Code of Practice) Bill, which is at the report stage in the Commons.

RAC Foundation director Steve Gooding said: “Parking should be an inconsequential act with the system working for both drivers and landowners. But yet again we see numbers that suggest the relationship is going badly wrong.

“It is surely inconceivable that 18,000 drivers a day are knowingly setting out to ignore parking rules and attract penalties of up to £100.

“Frankly we think the Bill can’t come into law too soon, bringing the era of selfregulation of private parking to a close with firms having to abide by a code of practice signed off by ministers.”

The DVLA charges private firms £2.50 per record but says it does not make a profit from the charge.

“It is surely inconceivable that 18,000 drivers a day are knowingly setting out to ignore parking rules