Parking Ticket...owner Resonsible?

[akajonnyg]

Hello. I have a parking ticket issued by a council. I was not driving the vehicle, a self employed driver was delivering the vehicle and it can be shown that he was in charge of the vehicle at the time of the offence. I understand that the owner may be responsible for the ticket...where do I stand legally? I did not make the choice to park illegally and so should not be charged a fine for doing so. The driver no longer works for us - she left the following day without reporting the ticket to us.

Also if this is correct (and I am not sure that it is correct) can someone explain the logic that the owner of the vehicle is responsible for the irresponsible actions of a driver of the vehicle. Is the owner also responsble for speeding fines? Is the owner responsible if the vehicle is involved in a crime? If it is correct it is a ridiculous law! Any help or comments appreciated as always... thanks in advance

[New Judge]

The situation is different with speeding offences, ohwise, as I have explained earlier.

I really do not know the position if the nominated driver denies that he was driving at the time of the offence. I've read through the regulations a number of times and can only find references to what happens if the RK does not give sufficient details to enable the driver to be contacted.

I'll do some more digging over the weekend if I get the time.

[New Judge]

Whilst sitting in the garden enjoying a bottle of Palmers' "Tally Ho" I've been having a rummage round to try to get to the bottom of this. The first thing I discovered is that Section 56 and Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 does NOT apply to parking tickets issued by local authorities (quite the opposite of what I said yesterday!). So, all of what was debated yesterday is null and void because, as I understand it, the ticket in question was issued by a local council.

Such parking penalties are enforced under the Traffic Management Act 2004. In its guidance (which runs to more than 180 pages!) there is a simple statement under "Collecting Penalty Charges". This simply says "The penalty charge is usually paid by the owner of the vehicle unless the vehicle was hired at the time". It goes on to define the "owner" as ‘"...in relation to a vehicle, means the person by whom the vehicle is kept, which in the case of a vehicle registered under the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 (c. 22) is presumed (unless the contrary is proved) to be the person in whose name the vehicle is registered."

All the rest of the document where dealing with parking charge collection refers to action being taken against the owner and no provision is made for the owner to pass responsibility for the charge on to anybody else.

[Buenchico]

Oops!

I think that you must have missed ABerrant's post (and my response to it) earlier in this thread, NJ.

It might have saved you some research time ;-)

[New Judge]

Yes, too much Palmer's Chris!

Having said that I was not sure what the 2004 Act said in relation to the onus being on the "owner" to pay the charges, so it was worth looking it up (and I enjoyed the Palmer's :-)

[akajonnyg]

Hi again, so just let me this straight. Even though I have co-operated with the authorities by giving them the full details of the person in charge and can prove that the person was in charge of that vehicle at the time in question (with signed paperwork, that i have sent to the authorities) I can still be held responsible if this person simply decides they dont want to pay the fine? Surley not? Surley the point of the law is to punish (or make responsible) people for THEIR actions, not to punish someone else on a technicality......or is it just about the revenue....because if I am deemed responsible then it certainly seems that its not about crime and punishment ...its about crime and revenue....?

[factor-fiction]

It makes sense to me in a way, jonny. There is a good chance that your driver will simply deny the whole thing or ignore all letters, and the council have no way of proving it was him. What they do know was it was your vehicle. It's a risk you take when you use self employed drivers, I suggest