Inventor takes parking fee crusade to LordsShields Gazette
10th April 2008
AN inventor followed in the footsteps of his Jarrow Marcher grandfather – and took a people's campaign to Westminster.
Dr Phillip Tann joined forces with regional website Parking
Appeals at its official launch, at the House of Lords.
Parking Appeals is recommending drivers use a highly accurate vehicle tracing device, designed by Dr Tann to boost their fight against new parking laws, introduced on March 31. Neil Herron, director of Parking Appeals, believes the new laws will lead to a huge rise in unfair fines.
Both Dr Tann and Mr Herron set off on their parking crusade from Jarrow, echoing the famous Jarrow March against unemployment of October 1936, when 200 jobless men walked from the town to Westminster.
Dr Tann, 45, who is relocating his business Autopoietic Systems, to St Bede's Chambers, Albert Road, Jarrow, said: "My grandfather, John Tann, was a Jarrow Marcher, and it does feel like I'm following in his footsteps by joining Parking Appeals in its fight."
That was all about getting a fair deal for the region – this is about getting a fair deal for the region's motorists.
"The new laws allow parking firms to use existing CCTV cameras, rather than wardens, to decide who should get parking tickets.But motorists will not know about the fines until a fortnight after the ticket has been issued through the post."
Mr Herron believes this will increase the number of fines, many of which will not be challenged by motorists, because of the time lapse.
He said: "Who can remember where they were two weeks ago, at a specific time and date?"
We felt Autopoietic's device, now launched as FleetM8 Solo was the solution, because a motorist's whereabouts are accurately recorded."If someone gets a fine, they can get the exact information from the database, to show where they were, and that can be used to prove the fine was wrong."
