Northumberland County Council is using a ‘parking enforcement vehicle’ to monitor parking on ‘School Keep Clear’ restrictions and help improve road safety outside schools across the county.
The enforcement vehicle, which is equipped with a camera, was introduced in 2016 in response to concerns over dangerous parking outside schools and other issues including speeding.
Since its introduction, 117 penalty charge notices have been issued relating to vehicles parked in restricted areas.
Northumberland County Council says the presence of the vehicle has encouraged parents and carers to ‘think carefully and act responsibly’ when parking outside a school at busy drop-off and pick-up times.
The council also says the vehicle has been well received by parents and teachers, who have noted a ‘significant improvement’ in road safety.
Paul Jones, director for local services and housing delivery at Northumberland County Council, said: “We are constantly working to improve road safety especially around schools and whilst the majority of people act responsibly, there are a minority of drivers whose actions create an increased road safety risk.
“The introduction of the enforcement vehicle has resulted in positive improvements in road safety, with many schools noticing a direct impact as a result of the enforcement vehicle routinely visiting their area.”
I don’t see the relevance of your question. Yes I made comment and inferred that the inspector was a man by saying one of his officers. That is a legally respected generalisation and could mean any officer male or female. It was certainly not meant in any petty sexual or discriminatory way to infer that there are no female officers within the police service.
I am quite surprised that some 13 readers disagree that the job could have been done quite correctly by a police officer male or female and that it was not necessary to engage a civilian enforcement for that purpose. We all talk about lack of police officers and that enforcement is important but then perhaps criticise when they are not used for their purpose. Again I would like to know by what authority that individual was entrusted with the powers to report for that offence, just for my peace of mind that is.
m.worthington Manchester
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m.worthington Manchester. Do they not have female Inspectors and women police officers where you live?
J. Taylor
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School picking-up time generates a captive audience of drivers for half-an hour or so and is an ideal opportunity for some driver education and/or enforcement by anyone qualified to do so, whether council officers or the police. The benefits of such education and enforcement do not necessarily have to be limited to, or only noticeable at, the location where the drivers where initially engaged with.
Hugh Jones, Cheshire
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Dangerous parking: Includes obscuring the view between pedestrians, especially children and vehicle drivers. Particularly parking on “School Keep Clear” marked areas which are expressly to prevent this selfish behaviour. If drivers park there, book the lot and keep booking them every day until it hurts their pocket enough to stop doing it.
Pat, Wales
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A parking enforcement vehicle? With no doubt a civilian parking enforcement officer on board. Are there such persons that can apply the powers of a police officer when it comes to reporting offenders who are stopping and or parking outside schools. Maybe.
Would it not have been cheaper to ask the local Police Inspector if one of his police officers in uniform could have been made available for one hour at the most at certain times and in certain places and then a policeman would have been seen to be doing his job instead of a civilian doing it.
I do hope that at all the school premises where offenders were reported that there were not only zig zag and school warning signs but there were also the obligatory yellow No Stopping Signs displayed otherwise no prosecution could follow. Without those signs no offence is committed.
m.worthington Manchester
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I wonder how the parents and teachers measured the road safety improvements that they “noted”. Did they count casualties and collisions? If there were improvements, then presumably the authorities would be able to quantify them, rather than relying on parents and teachers anyway. Or perhaps what they really meant was that there were more prosecutions for minor road offences in the area. And what is “dangerous parking” – how do stationary vehicles cause danger? Perhaps they mean dangerous driving past parked cars.
Charles, England
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