Watch those zig-zags! Spy car to snoop on poor school parking
A spy car will patrol the streets of Dudley targeting drivers and recording evidence of bad parking near schools.
The vehicle will be out across the borough from September in a bid to keep children safe.
It follows a successful trial at schools in June and July. The car will aim to catch motorists parking dangerously on yellow zig-zag lines.
And anyone caught flouting parking rules could be handed a £70 fine.
Councillor Karen Shakespeare, cabinet member for environmental services at Dudley Council, welcomed the move, saying: “Illegal parking outside schools puts the lives of children at risk.
“The yellow zig-zag lines are there for a reason – to ensure visibility so that schoolchildren can see and be seen clearly when they cross the road on their way to and from school.
“We take this extremely seriously. People who flout the law and ignore the zig-zags will be fined, and the new CCTV-equipped car should help us catch those who are endangering children.
“The vehicle will be patrolling school sites on most days and I am sure that it will be welcomed by the majority of law-abiding residents, who will be as frustrated as we are at illegal parking.”
The project will cost £60,000 to set up. It will be self-financing, meaning the cost of running the scheme will be funded by income generated from fines given out.
The camera will only start rolling when the car has driven over yellow zig-zag lines, thanks to technology fitted to the vehicle that detects road markings.
Once the car leaves the area the camera will stop recording. Council officers will then sift through the footage and anyone captured parking illegally will be sent a penalty notice through the post.
Government policy means the local authority can only use the camera car to film certain traffic offences, such as illegal parking and drivers travelling in bus lanes.
Similar schemes have been tested in other Black Country boroughs.
Cars are used to record any incidents of bad parking in places like Keep Clear zones outside schools, where it is difficult for a parking warden on foot to catch someone because they drive off when spotted.
