British motorists to be slapped with £2billion fines from parking and Clean Air Zones as DVLA charges soar
Drivers could be slapped with £2billion worth of fines this year
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Drivers are set to be hit with huge parking bills across the rest of the year, with experts forecasting that motorists could lose £915million in 2024.
New data has found that the companies and local authorities will hand out over £2billion in parking and traffic fines this year by requesting data from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA).
It has been estimated that a staggering 43 per cent of this revenue will come from parking fines, with drivers being charged around £915million.
So far this year, more than 30 million requests have been made to the DVLA for the name and address of vehicle owners, allowing companies to issue fines to motorists who have been found to break rules.
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Transport for London has requested details of more than 4.4 million people
PASince the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, the DVLA has seen a 62 per cent increase in the number of fines being given out.
Analysis of the DVLA's Keeper At Date Of Event (KADOE) database found that registered companies and local authorities have ramped up enforcement of parking and clean air rules.
Local councils can request data from the KADOE database for free, while private companies pay £2.50 for individual vehicle records, with experts predicting that the DVLA could collect a hefty £25.8million from keeper requests this year.
Unsurprisingly, Transport for London is the local authority making the most requests as it continues to deal with non-compliant vehicles failing to adhere to Ultra Low Emission Zone rules.
In the 2018/19 financial year, TfL made just under 700,000 requests, with figures rising 529 per cent in 2022/23 to an enormous 4.4 million.
The capital's transport authority has already handed out £359million worth of fines this year, around 17 per cent of the total projection for the financial year.
Iain Reid, head of editorial at Carwow, which analysed the data, said it was clear that the rise in Clean Air Zones and other emissions-based charging schemes had seen the number of fines jump dramatically.
He said: “It’s clear from the number of requests for vehicle keeper data being made year on year that registered private companies and public authorities are clamping down on parking and traffic violations.
"The introduction of Clean Air Zones and Ultra-Low Emission Zones over recent years is likely to have a large role in the growth in fines.
"Figures have been rising in line with the introduction and further expansion of Ulez in London, and with Clean Air Zones being introduced in cities as recently as December 2023, it’s possible that fines could reach record-breaking heights."
Four new Low Emission Zones have already introduced charging this year, with Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow all starting to charge motorists to drive inside the city in a bid to cut down on pollution.
Non-compliant cars will be hit with a £60 charge, with fines potentially reaching as much as £960 if petrol and diesel vehicles continue to breach the strict rules.
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UK councils issued 46,662 parking fines on average last yearPAReid continued, saying: "As multiple new laws have come into effect regarding Clean Air Zones, we would encourage all drivers to spend extra time planning your route, checking the rules of the roads being entered and whether your car is compliant or not.
"We tend to get complacent in areas where we drive most frequently. So, staying alert to new signage and regulations can save you time and money. Otherwise, you could get caught out.”