Motorists are about to bite back ... as predicted.

...and as they prepare to do so more evidence is coming in from council officers and parking enforcement personnel detailing what can only be described as unlawful activity. We can accept people making mistakes ... but as soon as that mistake is spotted and covered up to allow unlawful enforcement to continue then that is when it becomes criminal.

We understand that a number of Police forces are going to be forced to initiate criminal investigations once evidence is placed before them.

Refunds to come in Camden, Kingston, Harrow and Merton for motorists who have been penalised with unlawful PCNs.

All of this was forecast in the last Tonight Special we did following the introduction of the 2004 Traffic Management Act on 31st March 2008. All the councils who have thought that they were above the law need to think again.

Whistleblowers ... keep the information coming.

On the unlawful credit card charges issued by the four London Boroughs named above ... it is understood that London Council's Nick Lester has reminded councils that they must not levy such charges. It follows that if such charges are unlawful then, according to Mr. Lester

Parking Wars on ITV's 'Tonight' programme

Friday night saw Parking Appeals' Neil Herron on the 'Tonight' Parking Wars Special.

Minister Rosie Winterton attempted to justify the new Traffic Management Act with claims that it would be 'fairer.'

The evidence is heavily stacked against ...

She does make a claim that the councils have had since 2005 to get their act together ... so there can be no excuses. For once I have a degree of sympathy with the councils ... the Guidance to the legislation only came out last week, hence the panic.

We will be revealing more soon but it looks like paperwork is not all ready ... and to those council officers feeding us the information about how chaotic things are and how paperwork is not ready, Traffic Orders are not all prepared and TMA compliant, keep the information coming. One day when the bubble completely bursts and this whole scam is exposed for exactly what it is ... licensed highway robbery, there will be many a court filled with evidence of fraud and malpractice.

To those councils who think that they can continue to issue Penalty Charge Notices to motorists in the full knowledge that lines, signs and Traffic Orders are not correct or paperwork is not compliant just click here ... its a copy of the 2006 Fraud Act. No excuses ... you have been warned.

If you missed it or want to watch again ... VIEW THE ITV CLIP HERE

Play
Parking Wars: Watch now
Jonathan Maitland investigates new laws that could lead to innocent drivers being falsely accused of crimes

Rosie Winterton thinks its 'FINE'

Unfortunately things are not 'fine' and the never will be ... because Justice Collin's in Robin Decrittenden's case, stated that parking tickets were not 'fines' they were 'civil responsibilities' and as such did not fall foul of the Bill of Rights 1689, which states:

"That all grants and promises of fines and forfeitures of particular persons before conviction are illegal and void."

Under Decriminalised Parking Enforcement there is no recourse to a Court ... the council raises the 'fine,' issues the 'fine' and collects and keeps the fine revenue.

You can appeal of course ... to an independent adjudicator. How is he funded? Well, he receives a levy of 60p from every 'fine.'

This is precisely why the Bill of Rights 1689 was created ... to prevent the abuse of the people by those in power ... and now they are 'at it' again. Is it any wonder that Decriminalised Parking Enforcement has decended into the lawless, uncontrolled, unregulated shambles that it is ... nothing more than licensed highway robbery.

The other amusing statement from 'our future is Rosie' was that all the councils were ready. At this moment in time we shall beg to differ ... but we have the evidence that she doesn't ;-)

The 31st March 2008 is the beginning of the end of Decriminalised Parking Enforcement. CCTV enforcement rolled out across the country. Civil Enforcement Officers allowed to issue parking tickets by post?

This was the day they went just a step too far.

10 Most Unreasonable Parking Tickets ... and it's gonna get worse than this

If you have had an 'unreasonable' parking ticket let us know ... admin@parkingappeals.co.uk

We reveal the ten most unreasonable parking fines of all time
Daily Mail
27th March 2008

Most drivers vent a little steam when they get a parking ticket - and the number who appeal successfully proves they're often right to be annoyed.
But a new list of the most ridiculous parking tickets ever issued shows that almost nothing will stop the determined parking warden from slapping a ticket on a vehicle.
Indeed, it suggests a host of ways that officious officials can take advantage of drivers when they are at their most vulnerable.

Driven to distraction:
Even mitigating circumstances such as falling prey to a heart attack or bank robbers cut no ice with some wardens

The pit-stop ambush
Lorry driver Michael Collins was on his way to collect a skip in London's Belsize Park when the road beneath him collapsed. A burst water main had created a deep hole where the front wheels of his 17-tonne lorry were now stuck.
While he was waiting for roadside assistance, a parking attendant appeared. To the astonishment of nearby residents - and despite Mr Collins' protests, she stood on tiptoe and plastered a parking ticket on his windscreen - while helpfully telling him: "You can appeal".

The trunk road swoop
If a tree fell on your car and you escaped death by inches, you might expect some sympathy from your local council. But there was no sign of compassion from Wychavon District Council for Nicky Clegg of Stoulton, Worcs, after when a tree crashed down on her car as she drove her 82-year-old mother and 11-year-old son.
Police dragged the wrecked car - with crushed bonnet, smashed windscreen and broken wing mirrors - to the roadside and told Mrs Clegg she could leave it there and pick it up the following day. When she came back, a parking ticket was stuck on the window.

The knock-down surprise
Think that being badly injured is an excuse to park illegally? Think again. When Nadhim Zahawi of South London was thrown from his scooter and left lying in the road with a broken leg, a heartless warden from Lambeth Council slapped a £100 ticket on his bike.

The cavalry attack
You leave your horse in the street and what do you expect to find when you get back? A small pile of manure perhaps, but not a parking ticket.
Yet this is exactly what happened to Robert McFarland, a retired blacksmith from Yorkshire, when he left his horse Charlie Boy for a few moments.
Under the vehicle description on the ticket, the over-zealous warden had written "brown horse".


You've been ticketed:
A warden prepares to issue a fine. But some attendants take rather less care over details, as our list shows

The daylight robbery
It was a terrifying ordeal for Fred Holt, 77, when he went to the bank and two masked men burst in brandishing an axe and a machete.
The robbers held the axe to a young cashier's throat while money was handed over, and the customers were forced to lie on the floor. Later, they had to give statements to police.
It seems traffic wardens had not listened when officers told them about the raid and asked them not to issue tickets. Mr Holt found a £30 parking ticket pinned to his windscreen for staying 20 minutes longer than allowed.

The donor kebab
"Do something amazing today" runs the slogan of the National Blood Service. In Sutton, a traffic warden did just that - by ticketing a blood donor lorry.
The mobile National Blood Service truck had parked at the same spot in Sutton, Surrey, for four years when the zealous parking attendant issued a ticket while donors gave blood inside.
Sutton council eventually waived the fine, saying the parking attendant had made a simple error of judgment. Or to put it more aptly, a rush of blood to the head.

The bus stop gambit
Manchester bus driver Chris O'Mahony pulled up at a bus stop in his No 77 to let passengers on. While he was handing them their tickets, a Manchester City Council parking attendant handed him one.
Passengers looked on in disbelief as the warden joined the queue to prepare the parking ticket, deposited the £40 notice and walked off.
The driver, apparently, had parked in a restricted area. The attendant said he'd been told to issue tickets to buses that park.
Council bosses cancelled the ticket and the warden was sent for retraining - hopefully as something other than a warden.

The heart attack attack
David Holmes felt chest pains as he was driving and headed for hospital, where he was forced to park on the roadside and was treated for a heart attack.
A nurse thoughtfully left a note on the windscreen explaining the emergency and saying Mr Holmes's daughter would pick the car up later.
It proved futile. A parking attendant slapped a parking ticket on the car and despite an appeal to the local council the £40 fine was not cancelled.

The random posting
Krister Nylander was dismayed to receive a parking ticket in the post for parking in Warwick.
But he knew the ticket had to be wrong - he lives in Sweden and had not visited England since he was 16.
The offending vehicle was his 20-ton snowmobile, which had barely ever left his barn, let alone Sweden.
How did it get the ticket? Absolutely no Ikea.

Driving home the lesson
A driving instructor was issued with a CCTV parking ticket when his pupil stalled while attempting a three-point turn and could not restart the car.
The offence? Parking more than 50 centimetres from the kerb.

• List compiled with the help of Barrie Segal, founder of AppealNow.com and author of the book, The Parking Ticket Awards: Crazy Councils, Meter Madness and Traffic Warden Hell To buy a copy, visit appealnow.com/book.html

Win the Prize for the 1st parking ticket issued under new Parking Laws

The new Parking Laws (under the Traffic Management Act 2004) come into force at 00.01 on 31st March 2008.

NATIONAL COMPETITION
Parking Appeals.co.uk is not only offering FREE LIFETIME'S MEMBERSHIP to the website and a bottle of champagne for the person who gets the first ticket in the country, we will also appeal that winner's ticket on behalf of the motorist, and, should the appeal be lost, we will also pay the ticket.


REGIONAL COMPETITION
As well as the national prize we will also be running a competition in each local authority area, broken down by Council area, London Borough or Transport for London. Again, simply scan the ticket, register your details and send it to us at simon@parkingappeals.co.uk

The first prize in each area for the first ticket issued in each area will be offered a year's free membership to the site.

Nominations are open for a month, so send us a scan of your ticket and we will get you on the leader board.

Meanwhile, you can still join by clicking the link below ...

The number of parking tickets set to escalate as the war on the motorist set to reach firestorm proportions

Be prepared for a massive escalation in the number of fines issued right across the country. No controls, no checks or balances. Adjudication bodies funded by, and financially dependent on the very industry they have to adjudicate upon. The Department for Transport neutered as councils attempt to 'dumb-down' the strict and pedantic requirements of the signing legislation, assisted by the adjudicators who are adopting the man on the Clapham Omnibus stance of 'well, it looks like a loading bay / yellow line / parking space ...' forgetting or ignoring the fact that the legislators have created the specific signing requirements for a reason.

2008 is going to be the year that motorists reach 'tipping point' and say enough is enough. Get a voice ... and join http://www.parkingappeals.co.uk/

Councils to use cameras to catch drivers
By David Millward
Daily Telegraph Transport Editor
25/02/2008

Motorists face having to pay millions of pounds in fines after councils are given the power to use road cameras to punish minor traffic offences.

From the end of next month, town halls will be able to cash in on motorists drifting into bus lanes, ignoring no right-turn signs and getting trapped in box junctions. Even parking more than 19in from a kerb can be picked up by camera and trigger a fine of £60.

The new rules bring to an end the existing system where enforcement is left to the police, who are able to take into account the circumstances surrounding any offence. Transport for London and the local authorities in the capital have enjoyed this power for some time.

However, there have been complaints camera operators in control centres have issued tickets even when there is doubt the motorist's manoeuvre is illegal.

Motoring groups warned allowing councils to take over the enforcement of the traffic laws - and keep the proceeds - will lead to a surge in both the number of motorists being fined and the amount of cash being extracted from their wallets.

"My fear is that the bad councils will milk this," said Sheila Rainger, the acting director of the RAC Foundation. "There will be times when the need to raise money will take precedence over common sense."

The "decriminalisation" of parking - handing over enforcement to councils and allowing them to keep the cash - has already led to a surge in fines. Now there are fears allowing the same thing to happen for routine traffic matters will make life even worse for the motorist.
Several councils, including Manchester, Brighton and Hove, Nottingham and Sheffield, have already voiced an interest in taking on the new powers.

The change has been seen by critics as further evidence of what they regard as the "war on the motorist". It comes alongside a change in parking rules, revealed by The Daily Telegraph last week, which will enable councils in England and Wales to use remote cameras.

Barrie Segal, whose organisation, AppealNow, challenges thousands of parking and traffic offence tickets a year, warned motorists could find it hard to challenge any fines.
"You could get the ticket 28 days after the incident happened and if you travel the same road every day, it will be hard to remember what you are doing," he said.
"There are all sorts of reasons why people can stop in a box junction. Motorists can do so when turning right, but proving this could prove difficult. There could be other extenuating circumstances, such as making space to allow a police car or emergency vehicle to pass.
"I had one case where a London motorist was prosecuted for stopping in a yellow box, even though the photo shows that had he kept going he would have run two people over.
"If there is pressure to issue tickets because it's in a council's financial interests to do so, at the very least motorists won't be given the benefit of the doubt."

The changes have also alarmed Paul Watters, the AA head of roads policy. He said: "Some local authorities have shown varying degrees of ineptitude at dealing with parking enforcement so this doesn't bode well if they take on moving offences.
"Moving offences are very different to static ones. Mitigation may exist such as when a road closure or accident may necessitate an 'illegal' manoeuvre.
"There are many locations where traffic management arrangements are incredibly complicated or perhaps out of date. Sticking cameras up will be cheaper than 'fixing' a bad junction. What hope for unfamiliar drivers in an area using CCTV enforcement - they get home perhaps hundreds of miles away and a week later get a ticket?"
Mr Watters added: "How can they validate the legitimacy of the ticket - the CCTV image may show the offence but will it show that the sign was there and readable?"
"This type of enforcement could in some instances lead to bad driving, with drivers more worried about absolute adherence to road signs than the and people around them."