Bedford Driving Lessons

Motorists across the country are being hit with “ghost” parking tickets as an increasing number of councils are using CCTV to catch offenders. The cameras are being used to take pictures of those infringing parking rules and generate an automatic fine which is sent through the post 14 days later. Thirty four councils have discreetly taken advantage of the power to use CCTV and it is estimated they generate £3million of revenue every year. More are expected to follow. Motoring groups say the practice of “ghost” ticketing is unfair as it makes it harder for motorists to collect evidence to mount a successful appeal. It is also more prone to errors, they claim, because the camera system fails to account for those who stop only briefly to look at a map, or have blue disabled badges. There are 265 local authorities in England, which all have the right to enforce parking and keep the cash raised in fines. Last year they issued more than four million parking tickets raising £328 million in the process – more than three times as much as speed cameras. Motoring organisations fear that this figure will rise dramatically as more councils exploit powers which came into force in March 2008. The AA predicted that town halls using cameras were on course to increase income by around 10 per cent, generating £3million. Approval has been granted by the Department for Transport, even though the Government’s official guidance admitted that motorists could regard camera enforcement as “overzealous”. More