A message that must be driven home (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

A message that must be driven home

8:42am Monday 22nd November 2010 in Our View By Telegraph & Argus

In these times of belt-tightening, the loss of £50,000 income from unpaid parking penalty charges is not something Bradford Council will gladly bear.

But, it seems, bear it the Council might have to. With an average of more than 100 cases outstanding every month for the past year, the cost of chasing up the fine-dodgers could prove more expensive than the money that would be brought in from the penalty charges.

Many of these motorists who have incurred penalty charges by thoughtless parking and not paid up are driving uninsured, untaxed or foreign-registered vehicles, which are difficult, if not impossible, to trace.

Those who have little regard for the law in terms of registering their vehicles properly perhaps cannot be expected to lose much sleep over the fact that they have incurred penalty charges by parking illegally.

While it is unfortunate that such a high figure must be written off, it is also perturbing to realise the extent of the problem of uninsured and unregistered vehicles on the district’s roads.

Bradford is already suffering from increasing insurance premiums because of uninsured drivers.

When such people are eventually brought to book, as they are through regular and welcome police operations, they should be handed the stiffest penalties possible in the hope that the deterrent message will one day be well and truly driven home.