Express & Star

Spy car sees parents fined £8,400 in six months for bad school parking

Nearly 300 parents have been fined after being caught by a spy car introduced to crack down on poor parking outside school gates.

Published
Drivers caught parking on yellow zig-zag lines could be fined £70

Parents in the Dudley borough have paid out more than £8,400 to date – as 284 fines were dished out between September 2017, and March 2018.

The Dudley Council camera vehicle has been out on the streets looking for evidence of bad parking outside schools - with parents facing fines of up to £70.

The vehicle was introduced at the start of the new school term in September last year in a bid to improve children’s safety.

The move followed complaints about problem parking.

The camera only starts rolling when the car has driven over yellow zig-zag lines. Once the car leaves the area the camera stops rolling.

Council officers have then been tasked with sifting through the footage to catch the perpetrators.

Alant Lunt, the council’s strategic director for place, said illegal parking by some motorists was ‘putting the lives of children at risk’.

The most fines were handed out on Hillcrest Road, Kates Hill, near to St Joseph’s Primary School.

Fines were also issued to parents parking in Church Road, in Coseley, outside Christ Church Primary School.

The spy car was also kept busy outside Netherton Primary School on Highbridge Road, Netherton, Blowers Green Primary School on Blowers Green Road, Dudley, and Castle High School on St James’ Road.

Mr Lunt said: “We take safety around our schools extremely seriously, but the illegal parking by some motorists is putting the lives of children at risk.

“While, fortunately, the majority of drivers do park responsibly, there are still some who flout the law.

"The zig-zag lines are there for a reason, so children can see and be seen when going to and from school.”

He added: “We will continue to use the CCTV vehicle on the streets around our schools, to help make them safer."

The scheme is self-financing, with any surplus money generated from fines being ring-fenced to go back into the upkeep of the roads in the borough and improving road safety.