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Parking tickets are one of life’s many great joys, aren’t they? There are few things better than coming back from lunch with friends to see a lovely yellow sticker on your windscreen. But do you have to actually pay them?
Well, if you’re parked improperly (such as without a valid payment ticket) on land owned or operated by the local authority, then you do have to pay this back regardless. You may be able to dispute it if there’s a good reason why you didn’t pay for the metre or why you were parked there, but this really varies and, usually, public land usually has the parking rules quite well signposted, so you’re likely to be met with a shrug.
Private land like private car parks or driveways, however, are a different case. We always recommend you park in accordance with the rules of where you’re parking, but here’s what you need to know.
Some quick tips to avoid tickets
Before we go more into the types of parking ticket and what to do once you get them, the best thing to do is to be aware of how to not get them in the first place.
Whenever you’re parking, be sure to look out for any signposts stating parking restrictions and allowances on the road or in the area. If you’re parking in a car park, look out for signs that state the terms of parking.
Many car parks, for example, will have certain times in which you have to pay for tickets and other times that parking is free of charge (usually, after a certain time in the day or on weekends).
Parking on private land, like a private road, isn’t a criminal offence unless there’s a good case for “aggravated trespass” – which essentially means trespassing with the intent to cause harm or disruption. Trespassing without the aggravation, however, is still a civil offence so, while police may not press charges, you shouldn’t park on your neighbour’s drive.
Types of parking ticket
When you see your parking ticket, you should check who has issued it and what kind of notice it is.
A Fixed Charge Notice and Penalty Charge Notice is issued by a governmental authority and therefore has to be repaid. The most common type of notice you’ll see here will be the Penalty Charge Notice because this is the one issued for minor parking violations like parking without having paid or overstaying a paid window.
A Fixed Charge Notice is usually issued by police or local authorities for more serious traffic violations like driving dangerously (which can even be charged criminally by police officers), violating traffic rules (like going the wrong way up a one-way street), or parking on red route lines.
Owners and operators of private car parks aren’t authorised to issue Fixed or Penalty Charge notices. Instead, they can only issue Parking Charge Notices. These are, however, made to look near-identical to the government-issued ones, but be sure to keep the ticket and check the wording.
What can you do about parking tickets?
As we’ve said, if you’re looking at a government-issued notice, then your only options are to:
Pay it within the given period
Open a dispute for the ticket
If you choose to ignore a government-issued notice, it can escalate to a very costly mistake (and one that can potentially affect your licence in some instances).
With privately-issued Parking Charge Notices, you can choose to:
Pay it within the given period
Open a dispute for the ticket
Do nothing and ignore the issuer
Let’s look at these in more detail.
Pay the ticket
In most cases, tickets issued by any issuer will have a short “discount” window of between 7–14 days, inside which you’ll be able to pay less. If you’re genuinely at fault, the easiest thing to do is to pay the charge within the window and move on.
Open a dispute for the ticket
If there’s a good claim that signage wasn’t adequate for you to reasonably understand the terms of parking, you can dispute the ticket. If you decide to do so, be sure to have taken plenty of pictures of the area and/or signage so that you can prove your claim.
Do nothing
While you’re not legally bound to pay the Parking Charge Notice at the point of its issuing, that doesn’t mean that doing nothing is a good option. The issuer will contact you again after the discount period (if there is one) and, on a lack of response, can choose to escalate the matter to a civil court. This can then result in a judge issuing a court order to pay the charge, plus added interest (which will have been stated in the terms of the notice), plus legal fees.
So, you can see, this could end up being much more costly than the ticket itself.
Want to know why ADAS calibration is important for vehicle safety & performance? Read our blog to learn more about the impacts of not calibrating your ADAS.
Your tyre size can be found on the sidewall of your current tyre and is a sequence of numbers and letters. The most common tyre size in the UK is 205/55R16 but there are many variations so it’s important to check your existing tyre first before searching for tyres.
Tip: Take a photo of your existing tyre sidewall to make it easier to identify your tyre size using the guide below.
The first three digits. This displays the width of the tyre in millimetres. A tyre marked 225 will measure 225mm across the tread from sidewall to sidewall.
Aspect Ratio
The fourth and fifth digits of the tyre code that immediately follow the tyre width. The aspect ratio or profile height of the tyre sidewall is expressed as a percentage of the tyre width. So an aspect ratio of 55 for example means that the profile height of the tyre is 55% of its width.
Rim Diameter
The next two digits represent the size of the wheel rim that the tyre can be fitted to. It is also the diameter of the tyre from bead to bead. So a tyre marked 16 will fit on a 16-inch wheel rim.
Speed Rating
The speed rating of a tyre is represented by a letter of the alphabet at the end of the tyre size code and indicates the maximum speed capability of the tyre. Tyres receive a speed rating based on a series of tests which measure the tyres capability to handle a set speed for a prolonged period of time.
Select your tyre speed rating to find out the maximum speed your tyres can maintain.
If you are unsure what speed rating you need, be sure to check your vehicle handbook. Choosing a lower speed rating than that recommended by your vehicle manufacturer could potentially invalidate your insurance.
Load Rating
The load index provides information on the maximum weight capability for the tyre. The load index is a numerical code that can be located just after the tyre size marking and before the speed rating.
Select your load index to find out the maximum load capability for your tyres.
Although not illegal, it is not advisable to have tyres with a lower speed rating or load index than the manufacturer recommended tyre specification for your vehicle, or to have a combination of different tyre construction types. Consult your vehicle handbook to confirm your vehicle’s tyre speed rating and load index as well as any additional requirements.
Contact our team for help and advice with a new or existing booking. We’ll help direct your enquiry to the appropriate department.
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We endeavour to ensure we are displaying the correct tyres for your vehicle. However, we recommend all customers check the tyre size printed on the side wall of their tyres before proceeding with a tyre purchase as occasionally discrepancies do occur. By selecting the tyre sizes above and clicking 'Continue', you are indicating that you have checked your tyre sizes.
Please select your front and rear tyre size before clicking 'Continue'.
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Please note: There is a slope that the vehicle must be driven up to reach the vehicle ramp at this centre. This may prevent us from being able to work on some high-performance vehicles, Tesla vehicles or vehicles that have been lowered. If your vehicle has low ground clearance, please contact the centre team on 01342 314 111 before booking.
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