Motorists in Scotland are set to be slapped with £100 fines for simply parking their cars after the introduction of a major new driving rule from today.
A new national pavement parking ban comes into force from Monday, December 11 with councils set to receive powers to issue charges to road users.
Four years after achieving Royal Assent, the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 comes into law today with a string of new parking measures.
The new rules outlaw pavement parking, double parking and parking at dropped kerbs across Scotland with local authorities set to enforce the charges.
Certain exemptions are in place for emergency vehicle owners but these are designated by local councils.
Motorists failing to comply with the rules will be issued a £100 charge for parking offences with bills slashed to £50 if paid within 14 days.
However, many councils will first focus on educating dozens of road users who are unaware of the scheme before they dish out fees.
Fiona Hyslop, Minister for Transport warned pavement parking prompted a danger to society.
She explained: “The message here is clear: pavement parking is unsafe, unfair and illegal, and you could be fined up to £100 for it.
“Local authorities can begin to issue fines from December 11. We’re highlighting the danger that illegal pavement parking poses to pavement users, and in particular those with mobility issues or visual impairments, or parents pushing prams and buggies.”
However, it has been revealed that at least one-third of Soctland’s 32 councils do not have the decriminalised parking enforcement (DPE) powers to enforce the new ban.
The new Transport (Scotland) Act allows councils which do not have the new powers the chance to “borrow” traffic wardens from neighbouring local authorities.
However, some regions have denied they were willing to help other regions in a massive blow to the scheme.
Orkney Council has already refused to borrow wardens from Aberdeen meaning charges may not be handed out in the area until 2025.
A spokesperson commented: “No conversations have been had with other local authorities in Scotland. However, the geographical and logistical challenges associated with sharing staff, together with the significant resource pressures being experienced by all councils mean that this would be extremely unlikely to be feasible.”
Glasgow is expecting to hold a meeting over the future use of the scheme from May next year. Meanwhile, Inverclyde has admitted they have no idea when it will introduce a ban with South Lanarkshire opting for a “soft” approach.
Edinburgh will become the first local council to introduce pavement parking fines with charges set to be slapped on motorists from January 2024.
