South Gloucestershire’s car parking camera comes into force

 Courtesy: BBC NEWS

A mobile enforcement car is to be used in South Gloucestershire to catch drivers parking dangerously outside schools, bus stops and taxi ranks.

Fitted with number plate recognition cameras and GPS technology it will also film vehicles on pedestrian crossings.

Costing £74,000 a year to run, the vehicle “should pay for itself with a net contribution of about £22,000”, a council spokesman said.

The car will operate seven days a week throughout the district from July.

The penalty for illegal parking is £70, reduced to £35 if paid within 21 days.

A spokesman for the council said: “Rather than attached to the vehicle or handed to the driver, fines will be issued by post.

“All parking infringements will be checked by a parking enforcement officer before a penalty charge notice is issued.”

‘No driving away’

Councillor Claire Young, from South Gloucestershire Council, said: “While most road users park safely, some do occasionally park dangerously in restricted areas and the message is that if you continue to do this, you will receive a fine.”

“Road users particularly need to be aware that driving away when the parking enforcement car approaches is not a defence, because their details will already have been recorded,” she added.

A mobile enforcement car, introduced in Bristol last year, led to 510 penalty notices being issued in the first two weeks of operation.