Lorry and van drivers are five times more likely to get a parking ticket in London than elsewhere in the country, according to a Freight Transport Association (FTA) online survey.
The Association quizzed its members about penalty charge notices and examined data from 85 companies who were issued with a total of 16,043 tickets. Of these, more than four fifths were issued in London – where total fines were almost eight times higher than other areas of the UK.
A separate FTA analysis showed a success rate of more than 70% when tickets in London were challenged. FTA’s Head of Policy for London Natalie Chapman said this highlighted the fact that civil enforcement officers often handed out PCNs when drivers were delivering goods rather than illegally parking.
Natalie Chapman said:
“Just because a truck is in a loading bay with its doors locked doesn’t mean it’s parked. The driver may have gone inside to get paperwork signed, or secured his lorry while making contact with the consignee.
“Better training is needed for enforcement officers to ensure they don’t ticket vehicles without just cause. Some operators are forced to employ people just to challenge tickets, or they pay a PCN appeals service to manage it for them.”
FTA’s online survey analysed the data from 85 companies across the country who received a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 3,500 PCNs.
FTA also analysed results from 17 companies who received a minimum of four and a maximum of 7,080 PCNs in London in 2014.
FTA has its own PCN Administration Support which can monitor, administer and challenge the penalty charges issued to operators. For more information please see http://www.fta.co.uk/policy_and_compliance/road/urban_operations/pcn_administration_service.html
