Standard Penalties for Obstruction
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BY OUR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT QTANDARD penalties for obstruction. kJ introduction of the ticket system of fines, and the Parisian system of disc parking, together with provisions for more speedy installation of parking meters, are features of the Road Traffic and Roads Improvement Bill which is to have a Second Reading on Monday, Most of the new provisions will come into effect on September 1.
The standard penalties will apply, with other offences, to obstructing the highway by waiting with or parking a vehicle, or by loading or unloading a vehicle. A policeman, or a traffic warden in some cases, will be able to fix to the vehicle, or hand to the driver, a written notice offering him the option of paying a fixed penalty of £2 or half the maximum fine for a first offence, whichever is less.
This section of the Bill, however. will apply only in such areas as the Home Secretary names by Order.
The Bill, to speed up installation of parking meters, provides for the suspension for five years of the obligation upon the Minister of Transport to consult the London and Home Counties Traffic Advisory Committee before designating parking places.
• Where the Minister thinks that parking places should be designated in the London area, and no application is forthcoming from the local authority, he will be able to designate them himself. The clause which states that parking discs or similar devices should be displayed also applies only to the London area.
Where the Minister makes regulations altering a bus route or stop, and the Traffic Commissioners amend the licence accordingly, objectors will no longer be able to appeal to the Minister. Temporary off-street parking places may be provided in London on certain occasions. The powers in the Bill on parking discs are permissive. The Minister will not press local authorities to introduce the system, but they will be able to experiment if they wish.
Commenting on the publication of the Bill, Mr. H. R. Featherstone, national secretary of the Traders' Road Transport Association, said: "Our immediate reaction is to welcome the proposal for speeding up the installation of parking meters. We are in favour of this method of controlling the turn-over of kerb space, provided provision is made to enable goods vehicles to load or unload."
HIGH JANUARY REGISTRATIONS
REGISTRATIONS of new commercial vehicles in January, at 26,950, represented a good start for the year, the figure being the highest monthly total for more than two years. Details are given in the accompanying table.