A new online portal to allow motorists to appeal parking tickets via smartphone, tablet or laptop will be launched on Monday (March 14). Currently just 0.5 per cent of drivers who get a fine appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal (TPT) yet half of those who do are successful.
The new platform has been developed by TPT in partnership with consumer complaints service Resolver and takes away the need for the slow process of submitting paper evidence via post. Video and photographic evidence can be uploaded on the new system, too.
Brighton & Hove City Council will launch the system from March 14 with every council across the country expected to have it in place by the end of the year.
Fines for parking or bus lane contraventions (outside of London) in England and Wales will be able to be appealed with the new service along with penalties for the Dartford Crossing and Durham congestion charge.
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Motorists can appeal to the TPT if they think a penalty has been wrongly issued against them, but only after a challenge to the authority which issued the penalty has been formally rejected.
The online setup, which has been in development for the past year, will not only make it easier but quicker, too, with the TPT able to rule on cases in a matter of days rather than weeks.
Caroline Sheppard, Chief Adjudicator of the TPT, said: “Getting a parking ticket can be a frustrating experience, but our new portal makes the appeals process quicker, simpler and more transparent, putting paid to the old adage that ‘the wheels of justice grind slowly’.
“The platform has already generated considerable interest from other areas of the UK judiciary because it is fast, efficient, accessible and will bring cost savings to local authorities as well as simplifying the process for those appealing.”
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