Breaking: Fines for parking on pavements in the UK!
Eeek – this is a law change that could potentially cause some havoc, even though it’s well intended.
So, what’s the sitch?
Well, basically for the last 10 years (maybe longer) there has been a lot of noise around drivers parking on pavements, making it dangerous for those with pushchairs and mobility issues to get around.
Scotland is already ahead with the law planning to be implemented at the end of 2021. But what about the rest of the UK?
If you didn't already know, it has been a hotly debated topic, with the nation being asked to give their opinions too. 2019 was when we first started to hear rumours of the ban and Nov 2020 is when members of the public were no longer able to have their say.
So, now discussions are being had on when and how to put this new law in place. The results of these meant to be set out already, but as yet, there is not even a whisper (not the chocolate) of what the decision is. But the aim is to have it in force by Nov 2021.
Ok, so this is actually all quite boring (yawn) but it is important because the rules around pavement parking are just downright confusing as it is.
I’m gonna break this down into little tasty chunks, ‘yum, yum’
-
The Scots are already prepared for this and will have their laws in place end of 2021 (these guys are always ahead of the trend!)
Believe it or not this law is already active in London and you’ll get slapped with a £70 fine if you break it
The end of 2021 could see the whole of the UK having this change
This means parking up on the curb or pavement anywhere in the Uk could mean a hefty fine
No actual decisions have been made yet and the results from the public survey have not released
Why is this happening? Well the obvious answer is that people fine it hard to walk on the pavement if a cat is sitting on it. And it’s a bit mean to make those with mobility issues struggle to get down their road
What’s the possible plan? Well it’s being said that the whole scheme might cost £670,000 and will be a huge amount of work to make happen
So, there might be alternatives like, making the rules already in place tougher and easier to enforce by police. But this comes with its own problems too
9. They will also need to make sure that there will be enough parking to replace off-road spaces at the moment
But let’s be realistic here, none of us really want to be parking on the pavement - cars get damaged and wheels get curbed. It’s not like it’s a preferred option, there is simply not enough spaces set out for parking. Parking permits are really expensive and let’s be honest, none of us enjoy driving around for 30 mins trying to find a free space that ends up being a very long walk away from your destination.
Ok, so, a few weeks ago we also asked you beauts what YOU thought, and decided to do our own survey to get the lowdown on ‘what really gets the people going’... regarding this of course.
Drum roll please...
And our survey says:
The feelings were close but it was a NO to thinking this law is a good idea. And for really valid reasons, like my personal fear is; how much is this going to cost me to park in areas where there is no other option that off-road parking?
But on the other hand this is to improve other people’s lives who struggle to get around and need the pavements to be clear. We can probably all say we know or know someone who struggles with mobility and needs clear pathways.
To sum this all up though: we are basically no clearer about what could happen and for now we should just carry on being legal eagles with our driving and take note of any new changes as they happen.
Hopefully the Gov can make things easier for us all
For more advice on city driving check out our bitesize post here.
By Chelsey Fielding
Chelsey loves her convertible... a resident poser at ingenie. She had 5 driving instructors overall and during her practical test there was a hail storm! She still passed though - a stroke of luck or attempted sabotage from the driving gods? You decide.
To help your friend earn their Amazon voucher, you’ll need to get your quote now or come back using the link they sent you.