Traffic Warden - What is a valid parking ticket?

[Tizer]

I dropped my wife off at work this morning, dropping her off at the usual spot - the vehicular entry area for the pedestrianised zone in the town centre. Its somewhere that is a natural drop-off spot as its a fairly wide section of the bottom of the street and allows traffic behind to continue through. Occasionally taxis park there too.

This morning, we were involved in a brief conversation - one lasting perhaps 2 minutes. To my horror, as I pulled away, I caught a glance of a traffic warden standing perhaps a metre from my right rear tyre, typing into a device of some sort.

I'm terrified now that I will get a parking ticket.

Is a traffic warden obliged to give a driver a warning that his car is illegally parked?

Many thanks, Tizer.

[The Highway Man]

They don't have to give a warning, however in the past, common sense dictated that you were dropping off and nothing more would have been done. Nowadays in the age of targets and incentives, all drivers are fair game and common sense has gone out the window. It used to be that if the ticket wasn't handed to you or fixed to your vehicle it wasn't valid, however they can now post it to the registered keeper. It also depends what contravention code the warden has used, it could be parking in a restricted street during prescribed hours, then they would have to wait 5 minutes before issuing, or it could be stopped in a pedestrian zone which is an instant issue. You'll probably find out in a week or so.

[Tizer]

Paddy_n_Murphy said:

Tizer said:

Is a traffic warden obliged to give a driver a warning that his car is illegally parked?

Nope.

BUT, did you get the ticket on the spot?

If not....... Have a nice day.

No ticket was issued to me, unless he wrote it out standing behind the car and intends to process it in some way after seeing me drive off.

Edited by Tizer on Friday 7th August 16:12

[Tizer]

The Highway Man said:

They don't have to give a warning, however in the past, common sense dictated that you were dropping off and nothing more would have been done. Nowadays in the age of targets and incentives, all drivers are fair game and common sense has gone out the window. It used to be that if the ticket wasn't handed to you or fixed to your vehicle it wasn't valid, however they can now post it to the registered keeper. It also depends what contravention code the warden has used, it could be parking in a restricted street during prescribed hours, then they would have to wait 5 minutes before issuing, or it could be stopped in a pedestrian zone which is an instant issue. You'll probably find out in a week or so.

I wasn't parked any longer than two minutes and the approach gives a fairly good view of pedestrians around and I didnt seem him. That said, it would be my word against his if he was to argue that I was parked longer than 5 minutes.

Worse thing is that there are 3 that patrol the town centre area and I see him all the time.... (when I'm parked legally that is!)

[a boardman]

Paddy_n_Murphy said:

Tizer said:

Is a traffic warden obliged to give a driver a warning that his car is illegally parked?

Nope.

BUT, did you get the ticket on the spot?

If not....... Have a nice day.

if not you could receive it in the post, I belive that they no longer have to attach the ticket to the car, which is why they can also give you a ticket by cctv or them silly smart cars with cameras.

[herewego]

The Highway Man said:

They don't have to give a warning, however in the past, common sense dictated that you were dropping off and nothing more would have been done. Nowadays in the age of targets and incentives, all drivers are fair game and common sense has gone out the window. It used to be that if the ticket wasn't handed to you or fixed to your vehicle it wasn't valid, however they can now post it to the registered keeper. It also depends what contravention code the warden has used, it could be parking in a restricted street during prescribed hours, then they would have to wait 5 minutes before issuing, or it could be stopped in a pedestrian zone which is an instant issue. You'll probably find out in a week or so.

Where does this 5 minutes thing come from?

[The Highway Man]

herewego said:

The Highway Man said:

They don't have to give a warning, however in the past, common sense dictated that you were dropping off and nothing more would have been done. Nowadays in the age of targets and incentives, all drivers are fair game and common sense has gone out the window. It used to be that if the ticket wasn't handed to you or fixed to your vehicle it wasn't valid, however they can now post it to the registered keeper. It also depends what contravention code the warden has used, it could be parking in a restricted street during prescribed hours, then they would have to wait 5 minutes before issuing, or it could be stopped in a pedestrian zone which is an instant issue. You'll probably find out in a week or so.

Where does this 5 minutes thing come from?

The old TP2000 hand held ticket machine used by my local wardens had a 5 minute leeway built into the software, this meant that unless a full 5 minutes had passed, the machine wouldn't print the ticket.

[V8Maverick]

a boardman said:

Paddy_n_Murphy said:

Tizer said:

Is a traffic warden obliged to give a driver a warning that his car is illegally parked?

Nope.

BUT, did you get the ticket on the spot?

If not....... Have a nice day.

if not you could receive it in the post, I belive that they no longer have to attach the ticket to the car, which is why they can also give you a ticket by cctv or them silly smart cars with cameras.

Depends where you live, they still have to attach it to the car where I am and take a digi photo of it on the offending vehicle.

As said though, targets do drive the wardens to extreme ticketing sometimes. My father was in hospital in the Royal Free in Camden, so I'd parked round the corner on Roslynn Hill the day before (non chargable day). When I went out first thing in the morning to pay and display (restrictions started at 09:00) on my car and my sisters I found a warden quickly skuttling away - My ticket had 09:01 on it and my sisters had 09:00 exactly a slow watch had got me there 1 min late, surely based on the ticket at 09:00 she'd already had it punched into the machine and simply waited till 09:00 rolled over to hit print.
I was opposite the police station so I went to ask if I'd be towed if I left it there - if I'd got a ticket I was buggered if I was going to pay and display as well! They said "no mate just tickets, but they're b*stards around here. Camden has the highest comission rates paid to wardens, whether they are paid or revoked so they'll ticket anything. Believe it or not, in the nineties, when we were pulling bodies out of Kings Cross station, they were outside ticketing the patrol cars. You should complain mate, they'll revoke it probably".

As it was, I complained to Camden council and the tickets were revoked but the warden still got their commission for it.

[Dwight VanDriver]

Used to be that ticket had to be placed on vehicle or given to driver.

No more because of this: (Note 10 (3))

Penalty charge notices — service by post

The Civil Enforcement of Parking Contraventions (England) General Regulations 2007

10.—(1) An enforcement authority may serve a penalty charge notice by post where—

(a) on the basis of a record produced by an approved device, the authority has reason to believe that a penalty charge is payable with respect to a vehicle which is stationary in a civil enforcement area;

(b) a civil enforcement officer attempted to serve a penalty charge notice in accordance with regulation 9 but was prevented from doing so by some person; or

(c) a civil enforcement officer had begun to prepare a penalty charge notice for service in accordance with regulation 9, but the vehicle concerned was driven away from the place in which it was stationary before the civil enforcement officer had finished preparing the penalty charge notice served it

dvd