Dudley school spy car brings in nearly £21,000 from parents' poor parking
More than 600 parents have been slapped with fines in Dudley after being caught out by a "spy car" cracking down on poor parking.
Nearly £21,000 has been paid out by parents in the borough pulled up on their parking.
The most fines were handed out in Church Road, in Coseley, outside Christ Church Primary which saw 104 parents fined.
The Dudley Council camera vehicle has been out on the streets since September 2017 looking for evidence of bad parking outside schools – with parents facing fines of up to £70.
Since its introduction, parents have paid out £20,920 in fines to date, with 605 fines issued between September 1 2017 and February 28 2019.
Councillor John Martin, Dudley Council's cabinet member for highways and environment, said it was 'vital' the council does all it can to make schools safe.
Fines were also handed out near to St Joseph's Primary School in Hillcrest Road, Dudley, and outside Netherton Primary School on Highbridge Road.
The spy car was also kept busy outside Blowers Green Primary School, on Blowers Green Road, and Castle High School in St James' Road.
Councillor Martin said: “It is vital we do all we can to make schools and the surrounding areas as safe as we can, and thankfully the vast majority of people dropping off or picking up their children agree.
"Fining people is always a last resort, but we have to make sure that people are parked safely and legally.
"We will continue to use the CCTV car to ensure children can get to and from school safely.”
The vehicle was introduced by Dudley Council at the start of the school term in September 2017, in a bid to improve children’s safety. The move had followed complaints about problem parking outside school gates.
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 are then tasked with looking through the video footage in order to catch the perpetrators.
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.
