Traffic Management Act 2004
Until the 30th March 2008 the Borough of Poole enforces parking regulations under the 1991 Road Traffic Act. From the 31st March 2008 this will change to the Traffic Management Act 2004.
What are the main changes?
- Parking Attendants will be called Civil Enforcement Officers.
- There will be two different levels of Penalty Charge depending on the seriousness of the parking contravention. More serious contraventions such as yellow lines and disabled bays, amongst others, will attract the higher level of charge whilst less serious contraventions such as overstaying time paid for in a pay and display car park will attract a lower level of Charge. A full list of the contraventions and Charges is shown below.
- Penalty Charge Notices may be sent by post where the Civil Enforcement Officer has started to issue the Penalty Charge Notice but the motorist drives away before it can be served or is prevented from serving it due to threats or violence.
- Penalty Charge Notices may be issued for parking within a pedestrian crossing (zig - zag markings). The Police will also have the power to issue a Fixed Penalty Notice and your driving licence may be endorsed with penalty points. If you get a Penalty from both the Police and the Council, the Police’s Notice will take precedence and the Council’s will be cancelled if the Police advise us they are taking action.
- Civil Enforcement Officers will be able to enforce double parking and across dropped footways. These contraventions are unlikely to be enforced by the Borough of Poole before the summer of 2008.
- The Council must produce an annual report within 6 months of the end of the financial year (by the end of September 2009).
- The Council must respond to representations within 56 days of receipt.
- The Council is obliged to publish its policies on enforcement and consideration of Penalty Charges.
- New grounds of representation. See below for full details of all the grounds.
- Parking Adjudicators will have the power to refer appeals back to the Chief Executive of a Local Authority if they feel that discretion has not been properly exercised by the Council when considering the representation.
Differential Charges
The Traffic Management Act requires local authorities to introduce two levels of Charge depending on the severity of the contravention. The Act stipulates which contraventions are higher level and which are lower to ensure consistency between different local authorities.
Within the Borough of Poole the two amounts are
- Higher Level £70 (reduced to £35 if paid within 14 days)
- Lower Level £50 (reduced to £25 if paid within 14 days)
Not all the nationally agreed contraventions will apply in all local authorities as some refer to parking places or equipment that one particular authority may not have. The following contravention codes will apply in Poole.
On street Contraventions
| CODE | DESCRIPTION | DIFFERENTIAL LEVEL | AMOUNT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Parked in a restricted street during prescribed hours | Higher | £70 |
| 2 | Parked or loading/unloading in a restricted street where waiting and loading/unloading restrictions are in force | Higher | £70 |
| 5 | Parked after the expiry of paid for time | Lower | £50 |
| 6 | Parked without clearly displaying a valid pay & display ticket or voucher | Lower | £50 |
| 7 | Parked with payment made to extend the stay beyond initial time | Lower | £50 |
| 12 | Parked in a residents’ or shared use parking place or zone without clearly displaying either a permit or voucher or pay and display ticket issued for that place | Higher | £70 |
| 16 | Parked in a permit space without displaying a valid permit | Higher | £70 |
| 19 | Parked in a residents’ or shared use parking place or zone displaying an invalid permit, an invalid voucher or an invalid pay & display ticket | Lower | £50 |
| 22 | Re-parked in the same parking place or zone within one hour [or other specified time] of leaving | Lower | £50 |
| 23 | Parked in a parking place or area not designated for that class of vehicle | Higher | £70 |
| 24 | Not parked correctly within the markings of the bay or space | Lower | £50 |
| 25 | Parked in a loading place during restricted hours without loading | Higher | £70 |
| 26 | Parked in a special enforcement area more than 50 cm [or other specified distance] from the edge of the carriageway and not within a designated parking place | Higher | £70 |
| 27 | Parked in a special enforcement area adjacent to a dropped footway. | Higher | £70 |
| 30 | Parked for longer than permitted | Lower | £50 |
| 40 | Parked in a designated disabled person’s parking place without displaying a valid disabled person’s badge in the prescribed manner | Higher | £70 |
| 42 | Parked in a parking place designated for police vehicles | Higher | £70 |
| 45 | Parked on a taxi rank | Higher | £70 |
| 47 | Stopped on a restricted bus stop or stand | Higher | £70 |
| 48 | Stopped in a restricted area outside a school when prohibited | Higher | £70 |
| 49 | Parked wholly or partly on a cycle track or lane | Higher | £70 |
| 63 | Parked with engine running where prohibited | Lower | £50 |
| 99 | Stopped on a pedestrian crossing or crossing area marked by zigzags | Higher | £70 |
Off Street Contraventions
| CODE | DESCRIPTION | DIFFERENTIAL LEVEL | AMOUNT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 70 | Parked in a loading area during restricted hours without reasonable excuse | Higher | £70 |
| 80 | Parked for longer than the maximum period permitted | Lower | £50 |
| 81 | Parked in a restricted area in a car park | Higher | £70 |
| 82 | Parked after the expiry of paid for time | Lower | £50 |
| 83 | Parked in a car park without clearly displaying a valid pay & display ticket or voucher or parking clock | Lower | £50 |
| 85 | Parked in a permit bay without clearly displaying a valid permit | Higher | £70 |
| 86 | Parked beyond the bay markings | Lower | £50 |
| 87 | Parked in a designated disabled person’s parking place without displaying a valid disabled person’s badge in the prescribed manner | Higher | £70 |
| 89 | Vehicle parked exceeds maximum weight or height or length permitted in the area | Higher | £70 |
| 90 | Re-parked within one hour [or other specified time] of leaving a bay or space in car park | Lower | £50 |
| 91 | Parked in a car park or area not designated for that class of vehicle | Higher | £70 |
| 92 | Parked causing an obstruction | Higher | £70 |
| 93 | Parked in car park when closed | Lower | £50 |
Click on the link for more details of the contravention codes and our enforcement policy
Representation Grounds
The Traffic Management Act 2004 specifies a number of grounds under which the owner/keeper of the vehicle may make a representation.
Specified Grounds are:
- The alleged contravention did not occur
- The recipient of the Notice to Owner was never the owner of the vehicle in question; had ceased to be its owner before the date on which the alleged contravention occurred; or became its owner after that date.
- The vehicle had been permitted to remain at rest in the place in question by a person who was in control of the vehicle without the consent of the owner.
- The recipient is a vehicle-hire firm and: the vehicle in question was at the material time hired from that firm under a vehicle hiring agreement; and the person hiring it had signed a statement of liability acknowledging his liability in respect of any PCN served in respect of any contravention involving the vehicle.
- The penalty exceeded the amount applicable in the circumstances of the case.
- There has been a procedural impropriety on behalf of the enforcement authority.
- The Order which is alleged to have been contravened in relation to the vehicle concerned is invalid.
- The Notice should not have been served because the penalty charge had already been paid in full or by the amount reduced by any discount set within the period set.
If your circumstances do not fit one of the above specified grounds you may still explain what happened and the Council will consider your comments. Please enclose any relevant documentary evidence, for instance a delivery note, evidence of a breakdown or evidence of emergency admittance to hospital. Please see our policy on considering penalty charges linked on the right hand side of this page.
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