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UK van drivers pay almost £600,000 for loading bay fines each year

Councils issue about 13,000 tickets per year to van drivers incorrectly parked in loading bays

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UK van drivers have been hit by loading bay fines worth more than £1.7 million in the past three years.

Research by Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has found that councils have issued an average of 13,000 parking fines per year since 2015, with numbers increasing by about 10 per cent each year.

It says that this is because rules around loading bays are becoming increasingly unclear for van drivers, which it says is further demonstrated by the fact that it found 23 per cent of appeals against penalty charge notices (PCN) for incorrect use of a loading bay were successful.

(VW)

According to the research, from a Freedom of Information request that uses data from 45 out of 51 UK councils that were contacted, van drivers working in Glasgow are by far the most likely to receive a PCN. With 106,752 tickets issued between 2015 and 2018, the city hands out about 2.5 times more than Manchester, which was the next highest.

Rules state that, in the majority of loading bays, vans can be used to collect pre-ordered goods that require a vehicle to transport them, and if the vehicle must be left unattended, it must be made clear that goods are in the process of being loaded or unloaded.

Drivers often get caught out when using loading bays to wait for parking spaces to become available, drop off or pick up passengers, or stop for other reasons without loading or unloading goods.

Sarah Cox, head of marketing at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, said: “As this research reveals, PCNs are costing businesses thousands of pounds a year when, in fact, they can be avoided completely if you understand the rules correctly.

“Loading bays are an essential part of the red route network as they allow businesses to access central locations to make and receive important deliveries. As the rules change between councils, it is crucial that you check before you park.”

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