Wednesday 18th March 2009

Parking Fine Dodgers to have Cars Crushed

Leicester Council gets tough on parking tickets

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Drivers were left feeling flat

Drivers in Leicester are being warned that their cars will be crushed if they do not pay parking fines, it has been reported.

Leicester City Council decided to clamp down after 3,926 fines were left unpaid in 2008. One debtor owed the council £10,000 in parking fines.

Now the council has told drivers that their vehicles will be towed to a compound and crushed after 90 days of a ticket not being paid.

Even if the car is crushed the owner will still have to pay the debt. Andy Thomas, the council's road traffic manager, said a small minority had to learn to pay their fines.

'We're talking about people who lie, who cheat, people who spoil it for everyone else, people who give false information and don't register a car whey actually live,’ he said. ‘You have got to pay or you will lose your car.’

Last year it is said that 50,000 parking tickets were handed out in Leicester and 250 drivers refused to pay.

[bridgland]

Ther had better be completely above board and honest with how they dish the tickets out otherwise this is going to backfire massively.

[quotemehappy]

What piece of legislation gives the council the right to take somebodies car away?

[ctr35218]

i live in Leicester and I can safely say the traffic wardens are like a bunch of little Hitlers, they do themselves no favors in this town especially the way parking and transport is in the city center.

[14-7]

Wow, half a percent of people don't pay the tickets! Chances are they won't ever find the cars anyway so it's just another method to try and bully people in to paying at the outset. The ones who haven't paid in the past are hardly going to change their minds now.

Or am I being too cynical?

[CTE]

Yes it is extreme, but the rules are simple.....although we have all heard about unclear signage etc, but I guess this can be appealed against, if its a genuine case.
Personally I think there are too many people behaving selfishly and with no consideration towards others, and the result is ever oppressive rules. Maybe a few should have their cars crushed in order to be taught a lesson about social responsiblity, although most will just think they are victims, and its "not their fault", well how the fe*k`s is it?
You can tell I am in my middle age now, it`ll be pipe and slippers next!..but I will still have petrol in my viens.

[DavrianMad]

Typical, if you pay fine you guilty, if you don't they crush your car. This all about forcing people to pay regardless, park fines have always been about making money and not keeping the roads free for traffic.

[drewcole81]

I wonder how many of the tickets issued were not warrented, by Parking attendants who need to fill there quota to get there monthly bonus or stood by the ticket machine with a pre written ticket ready for the seconds to tick down and slap the ticket on someone window...

That said... if you park where you shouldn't, then you should expect to get a ticket and should pay for it.
For repeat offenders then take there licence away.

[davidpn]

We're not talking about people who contest parking tickets when they believe they have a genuine case. It's the persistent dodgers who will have their cars crushed. More than likely the same people who don't pay road tax or insurance or contribute to society in any way.

I have contested about 10 parking tickets over the last 10 years and beaten about 8 of them. No one will come and crush your car if you win your case!

[BSC]

Wouldn't it be better to auction the cars?

[Steve_M]

Potentially crushing a 100k Rolls Royce for an unpaid £30 parking fine does indeed seem very excessive, and a waste of car and money.
Surely a fine system to recover a towed car from an impound yard would be better.
If they are going to keep cars for 90 days before crushing them then they must have adequate storage for said vehicles & the storage must be secure and safe, otherwise they could be liable for damages to vehicles when collected.

So why not just tow the cars, notify the owner they have been towed for none payment of fine. Place a £250 recovery fee on the vehicle plus parking fine and state that the owner has 90 days to recover their car from impound or it's current V5 will be deleted and the car auctioned off to the highest bidder.
The council will make much needed money and the system would become self sustaining.
A**holes who don't pay there parking fines will be helping to keep my council tax down and there will be an abundance of cheap cars at auction.

[dazsmith69]

thats environmentally friendly :?

Idiot councils at it again, they havnt got a clue

its like tying your dog up outside a shop whilst you go in and get a paper to find its been removed and put down because it was tied up in the wrong place, god this fking country is a fkin joke

[rockystarr]

I don't think this is such a bad idea....on paper and in principal.

[pgsmith]

Shouldn't the punishment fit the crime? In nearly every case, the car is going to be worth more than the ticket balance. Couldn't licenses be suspended or late fees imposed?

Do any of the council members own a portion of the local business that would crush the cars?

[SGirl]

davidpn said:

We're not talking about people who contest parking tickets when they believe they have a genuine case. It's the persistent dodgers who will have their cars crushed. More than likely the same people who don't pay road tax or insurance or contribute to society in any way.

So how are they going to find these people if they haven't got the car registered to them?

[drewcole81]

Steve_M said:

Potentially crushing a 100k Rolls Royce for an unpaid £30 parking fine does indeed seem very excessive, and a waste of car and money.
Surely a fine system to recover a towed car from an impound yard would be better.
If they are going to keep cars for 90 days before crushing them then they must have adequate storage for said vehicles & the storage must be secure and safe, otherwise they could be liable for damages to vehicles when collected.

So why not just tow the cars, notify the owner they have been towed for none payment of fine. Place a £250 recovery fee on the vehicle plus parking fine and state that the owner has 90 days to recover their car from impound or it's current V5 will be deleted and the car auctioned off to the highest bidder.
The council will make much needed money and the system would become self sustaining.
A**holes who don't pay there parking fines will be helping to keep my council tax down and there will be an abundance of cheap cars at auction.

What you said here pretty much already happens in some places.

[drewcole81]

SGirl said:

davidpn said:

We're not talking about people who contest parking tickets when they believe they have a genuine case. It's the persistent dodgers who will have their cars crushed. More than likely the same people who don't pay road tax or insurance or contribute to society in any way.

So how are they going to find these people if they haven't got the car registered to them?

Batman... he can find anyone.

[Jasper Gilder]

'We're talking about people who lie, who cheat, people who spoil it for everyone else, people who give false information and don't register a car whey actually live,’ he said. ‘You have got to pay or you will lose your car.’

If the Council haven't got the right address for the car owner - how are they going to find the car so as to tow it away to crush it??

Oh Dear

[neh321]

Why don't they just do the job properly and execute the driver?
Like they would in China/N. Korea?

I do recall years ago a judge throwing out a case on appeal (not parking) because "The punishment must fit the crime".

My take on this would be that they cannot do it. I suppose you can only appeal AFTER your car has been crushed but I do remember the Customs being forced to pay compensation after they confiscated and crushed cars belonging to people they reckoned were bringing in excessive booze from France..

Edited by neh321 on Wednesday 18th March 14:14

Edited by neh321 on Wednesday 18th March 14:14

[Negative Creep]

So will people's houses be knocked down if they don't pay a fine for putting rubbish in the wrong bins? Is any other minor offence pursued so vigorously in this country?

[PompeyM3]

Seems a waste, couldn't they auction off the cars and put the money towards some good use. Get something out of it rather than just destroy what could be a perfectly working car just to prove a point ?.