Parking tickets through the post is no April Fool's joke

Drivers who find a parking fine letter on their doorstep in the next few days will not be the victims of a cruel April Fool’s prank – this is the way parking restrictions can now be enforced, warns the AA.

From Monday (March 31), parking attendants who have been unable to slap a ticket on an illegally-parked vehicle because it was driven off can chase the car’s owner by post.

Drivers delivering, dropping off passengers or nipping round cars obstructing the road, as well as bona fide disabled Blue Badge holders, could find themselves facing a “pay - or delay and pay more” envelope – even though they didn’t break any parking rules. And, by the time they get the ticket they may not remember the exact circumstances.

“We need to get parking enforcement into proportion. A car may stop for legitimate reasons such as dropping off a passenger or making a delivery. If the car has driven off, the space is clear for another car to use – job done, surely,” argues Edmund King, the AA’s president.

“Some local authorities have lost sight of the original aims of parking enforcement, which was to keep traffic flowing, warn selfish drivers, punish blatant offenders and keep legitimate use of car parking spaces ticking over. Drivers will feel that tickets by post is just an extension of ‘open season’ on the motorist.

"The AA will monitor the situation and will raise any concerns with Transport Minister, Rosie Winterton MP.”