Pavement parking ban adds to growing fines risk facing fleet managers
Scotland has introduced a nationwide pavement parking ban with £100 fines.
Authorities in Scotland have launched a public information campaign to raise awareness of new parking rules banning pavement parking
Pavement parking, double parking and parking at dropped kerbs was officially outlawed this week.
Local authorities will enforce the law and can fine motorists £100 for infringements, which is reduced to £50 if paid within 14 days. Many towns and cities say it could be years before any penalty is introduced in their area, but Edinburgh expects to launch its scheme within weeks.
Fines can be incurred if just one wheel is on the pavement, but exemptions will include deliveries taking less than 20 minutes, emergency services and parked vehicles that leave a 1.5m space for pedestrians.
Scotland’s Minister for Transport Fiona Hyslop said: “Pavement parking is unsafe, unfair and illegal. This campaign is really important to make sure everyone in Scotland is aware that enforcement is coming.”
Scotland is the first nation in the UK to make pavement parking illegal nationwide, although London enforces the rule, issuing 370,000 penalties each year, which accounts for 9% of all its parking tickets.
Local authorities in Scotland have raised concerns about the extra costs involved in policing the pavements, with one estimating it will spend £500,000 installing new signs and warnings.
It is the latest additional risk facing fleets, as other new rules backed by penalties for infringement include new 20mph zones, Low Emission Zones and Clean Air Zones.
Fines and penalties received by fleet drivers have increased by 50% year-on-year, according to UK leasing companies, which fund nearly two million cars and vans on behalf of corporate customers.
Motoring campaign groups also argue that drivers in many areas are forced to use pavements, otherwise they would block streets, especially where residents have no access to off-street parking.
One Scottish resident complained: “In parts of Glasgow, the roads are too narrow to allow people to park on opposite sides and it will become a war over who gets in first and gets the parking space.
“If the Police get involved in a dispute who is right and who is wrong? Councils throughout Scotland will have to spend a lot of money marking roads clearly and handling appeals.”
More information on the new pavement parking rule can be found at roadsafety.scot.
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