Spy car sees parents fined £11k in nine months for bad school parking
More than 330 parents have been slapped with fines after being caught by a spy car introduced to crack down on poor parking outside school gates.
Parents in the Dudley borough are still being caught by the vehicle which was introduced nine months ago – with more than £11,500 paid in fines.
The Dudley Council camera vehicle has been out on the streets looking for evidence of 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.
Parents have paid out £11,557 in fines to date – as 336 penalty notices were dished out between September 1, 2017, and June 22, 2018.
Councillor Karen Shakespeare, the council's cabinet member said the safety of children is "of the highest priority to the council".
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.
Councillor Shakespeare said: "The safety of children walking to and from school is of the highest priority for the council.
"Although a majority of motorists park responsibly, there are some that continue to park illegally and put the lives of our children at risk."
She added: “The zig zag lines are there for a reason, so children can see and be seen when going to and from school, and we will continue to use the CCTV vehicle on the streets around our schools, to help make them safer.”
The most fines were handed out on Church Road, in Coseley, outside Christ Church Primary School, and Hillcrest Road, Kates Hill, near to St Joseph's Primary School.
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.
