Parking fine at school run

[js1000]

I am really upset, as I got parking tkt whn i went inside the school to pickup kids. My car was on double yellow,there are no single lines on that street. I was only away for 6 min. ( on ticket time is 3.35pm -3.41pm.
I think its v unfair because they purposely come at 3.30 when they know parents are going to be inside the school.
Is it worth appealing against it?

s'okay SP. in your situation, you should be able to walk child to school gate and immediately return to car. thats why 'wardens' will observe for at least 5 mins (usually) to see if any exemptions apply.

not compulsory for someone to be in vehicle. though if there is, suggests that driver wont be long.

to avoid further confusion though, 'nipping to the shop' (even for two minutes) is not permitted when parked on double, or single yellow lines, and exemption would not apply in such circs.

hth

ps. i dont know alot about alot, but kmow much about this area; tis what im paid for. however im not a 'warden' or a "traffic pig" (Goober).

sorry riven, dont understand what you mean by 'voluntary fine'.

parking enforcement has largely been decriminalised now. therefore monies due for a penalty charge. is that what you mean?

if remains unpaid for long time, registered keeper at risk bailiff pursuit though, so no, not voluntary.

I read OP and was pleasantly surprised that there is at least one place where parents who park on double yellow lines are penalised.
At DCs' school, the amount of parents who don't want to waste their time parking somewhere suitable and walking into the school to drop off or collect their children is shocking. The school puts up big banners on the gates saying not to pull in there, they still do and in the process obstruct the road for parents who are trying to park somewhere properly and get their children into school.
Good for the traffic warden - of course it's not unfair that they went there at 3.30 when they knew there would be parents collecting kids - that's probably why they were there, to catch parents like OP.

Riven - we could do with you up at our school

Oooh, Riven come around ours, Ms Dictator!

oh i see!

Riven for Parking Czar! [grin}

in places that have really bad parking problemss, id suggest try calling you council's parking service. sure they will be glad to send one or two officers down. perhaps not on daily basis, but heavy parking enforcement even if only very occasional is likely to have an impact. even if short term.

in truth though, because of the 5 min observation time required, not nec mean that many tickets will be issued, but may still deter many from parking illegally outside schools.

RS, when I spoke to our parking chief a few months back, he said we had 6 minutes grace in the residents' spaces - none on double yellows (not that I've ever done that anyway - even if it meant driving round in circles for 10 minutes waiting for a space, while ds was getting worried in the playground - motto:never be late!)

Then when I talked to a lurking warden the other week, they said 'we have instructions to give no grace period at all' so looks like they have changed the rules. All seems a bit arbitrary.

I wish they would be clear, then we could work withit - but they're not and seem totally unwilling to negotiate.

I think if you do the "crime" you have to expect the fine and most definitely pay!

There is so much bad parking at our school at drop off and pick up time that the neighbours have started to complain a lot.

As parents it is easy to think "it is just for a few minutes twice a day" but for the residents it is a real problem and we have now traffic wardens every now and then as well in a bid to discurage people to park illegally/ to drive to school when most of them could actually walk.

SP if you are especially inclined, you should write to the head of parking for your local authority and ask for a copy of their enforcement policy, along with enforcement codes and observation times for each. if you request this under the Freedom of Information Act (you should state those words), they should provide the info needed to help you.

these exemtions and onservation times should not really vary for different areas. though i do agree that obs time is not required for all double yellow line situations.

next time you do the school run, have a quick look. if there are vertical lines on the kerb and a white 'no loading' sign, that would explain it.

agree with Riven

Sorry, but this is just like all these people who moan....."but I was only X mph over the speed limit".......if you do the crime, you have to pay the fine......I'd move on personally, and thank your lucky stars you didnt get towed......like I did (!).

Thanks very much RS, I appreciate it - I should have clarified that wasn't supposed to be a generic moan at you,! there was a question in there somewhere...basically whether this was a regional phenomenon or national guidelines.
You've figured that out and answered it so thankyou!

tripp trapp tripp trapp

Indaba - if I went over the speedlimit to avoid a crash - tbh I would give a diddly squat avout a fine, at least I am alive

Also if I am 2mph over the speed limit - then I am not watching my speedo rather than the road - so the same, sorry but a couple of mph aren't goingt o matter more than watching the road. Plus most speedo's are out by a few mph so aorund 3-4 mph will be really dificult.

As for parking on double yellow lines - don't do it unless you have loadsa money to cough up.

I have successfully appealed ALL parking tickets I have received while on the school run. If you want the letter I sent I can email it to you. I have been ticketed about ten times on the school run, they now dont even give me a ticket anymore (if they are the same wardens on the beat)

sorry the tickets I appealed against were for parking on a single yellow line. There is no parking at my DS's school and the paid parking bays are always full so we are left with no option but to park on single yellow lines for about five minutes to do the drop off. The last ticket I successfully appealed two weeks ago was given via a mobile camera. Around the same time I appealed against a red route ticket because the road I wanted to drive in was blocked by a truck delivering bricks so I had no option but to wait on a red route. My appeal grounds were as above, I told them that I was 'waiting' and not 'stopping,'I won that one too. I urge you to appeal, I know that we are not supposed to park on yellow lines but if there is genuinely no other parking during a school drop off then I will continue to park on the single yellow lines and appealing.

useful post mimiso; some of my earlier posts mentioned this. just to say, for the purpose of school run times, (and assuming there are no signs and kerb markings in place) double and yellow lines mean the same thing and have the same rules about parking.

its ok if posters above choose to remain in ignorance and sneer/'LOL' about people who park on yellow lines. actually, that's good, cos it just means those who actualyy do know the rules are more likely to find a parking space where they need one! .

Absolutely, Riven. Walk FGS! It's not difficult (unless, obviously, you have some kind of disability hampering mobility).

It never fails to amaze me just how lazy we have become since we became reliant on cars.

If no one else used their cars, then I wouldn't either.

It's the fact the walk to school from here is along an extremely busy main road, with extremely narrow pavements and enough pollution to kill your average budgie, that I find it so difficult to walk with both children one of whom screams if he is put in the buggy and has zero road sense.

Some days I just cannot face it. Then there's walking back again, up a hill, with said child and all the shopping.

Yes I try and do this as much as possible, but on the days when I have done it, I am generally so bloody knackered that I can't physically do anything else all morning...this after a night of constant breastfeeding and no actual help with any of that...i have to everything here, and having the use of a car makes a huge difference to whether I accomplish that or whether the house is a state and I am in a foul exhausted mood.

You can call it lazy if you like, though.