Annual report shows motorists most often fined for performing illegal turns

Ealing Council made more than £11 million from parking fines and traffic infringements last year – £2 million more than the year before.

The council issued a total of 194,616 Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) in the 2017-18 year, with motorists most often getting fined for performing prohibited turns.

This infringement alone accounted for more than 20% of the PCNs issued, according to the Parking Annual Report.

Last year the council netted nearly £700,000 in fines from the controversial decision to stop traffic turning left from Longfield Avenue at the junction with New Broadway.  

The second most common thing Ealing motorists were hit for was parking in a residents’ or shared-use parking zone without clearly displaying a valid permit or ticket, or without payment of the parking charge. Over 28,000 tickets were issued for that offence.

Being caught in a bus lane was the third most common offence, resulting in 26,997 infringement notices – 14% of the total.

Failing to comply with a prohibition on certain types of vehicle resulted in 13,438 tickets, and  parking in a restricted street during prescribed hours, 13,022.

Other common infringements included failing to drive in the direction shown by the arrow on a blue sign, which was done at least 8,800 times, and failing to comply with a no entry sign, for which 10,096 motorists were punished with a PCN.

CCTV accounted for the largest number of PNCs issued, with 55% of tickets coming from cameras in bus lanes, around parking areas (where they are often equipped with smart licence plate recognition) and on normal traffic routes.

Civil Enforcement Officers on the streets – or traffic wardens as they are more widely known – were responsible for the rest.

There were those who challenged their penalty charges, with 1,172 engaging in appeals processes.

Roughly 41%, or 490 people, won their appeal, although the council document notes a large amount of the cases recorded as allowed were in fact cases where the liability for the PCN has been transferred to a new motorist.

There were only 44 complaints to Parking Services in the 2017/18 year – far lower than the previous two years.

Ged Cann - Local Democracy Reporter

18 June 2019