Effective road and traffic management

Written evidence from Michael Coles (ETM 26)

Introducing myself

My name is Mike Coles I am 67 years old I have been retired for 17 years as a result of a head injury and in recent years I spend a lot of my time helping others to deal with the day to day problems in society such as the one I am presenting today.

I am a supporter of Living Streets and admire them for the sturdy campaigning in the past on this subject.

My presentation is about my own personal experiences but I can assure the committee that a fair number of the population that are mums with young children and the disabled share my views.

My summary of the main points are: -

1. The Law in respect of pavement parking and in particular driving on a pavement.

2. The effects this practice has on others and myself.

3. The cost to local authorities and the taxpayer.

4. The cost to society and the erosion of social values.

5. Support for pedestrians from the police and local authorities that are not up to a good standard and can vary from area to area.

6. The car insurance in respect of being illegally parked

7. Suggestions for moving some parked cars off the streets.

8. Recommendations I would like the committee to put into its report

1. The law in respect of pavement parking.

As of the 5th.July 2010 out of 326 local authorities 57 did not have Civil Parking Enforcement Powers outside London. The areas where I live are part of the 57.

My local authority rely on the police to enforce disciplines on parking and I draw your attention to the Enclosed supplement reference Supp/1/A

As you will see the local authorities reluctance to make TRO’s[Traffic Regulation Orders] for all the reasons given is not a satisfactory solution. The reluctance of our local council representatives to pass things up to a higher level is just an easy way of not dealing with the problem. See supplement reference Supp/1/B and response Supp/1/C.

The reluctance of the police forces to take action is always excused by "We haven’t got the resources" Please see supplement reference Supp/1/D from the chief superintendent of Cambridgeshire Constabulary.

It must not be forgotten that in areas where the local authorities have taken over responsibility for parking, cars parked on the pavement can be ticketed as contravening the parking regulations rather than for causing an obstruction. But of course this can’t happen in Cambridgeshire.

There are laws in place to deal with pavement parking and driving on pavements and

more effort is required by authorities to uphold the law.

2. The effect this has on others and me.

Because we can walk freely on pavements in London and some other Counties we feel discriminated against in counties that allow pavement parking.

It is confusing to understand the logic of Counties having different arrangements.

Counties that allow parking on pavements are in contravention of the Disabled Discrimination Act, as I can find no evidence where Authorities have a minimum clear passage chart for footpaths.

I am partially disabled and find it impossible to negotiate around parked cars and try to keep safe from the moving traffic so I tend not to go to those areas.

My children have young families and they find it impossible to negotiate their pushchairs around parked cars.

3. The cost to Local Authorities and the Taxpayers.

In the area of Cambridgeshire County Council it has cost nearly 3million pounds in compensation alone during the last five years. See supplemement Supp/3/A.

They spent a further 3.2 million pounds repairing footpaths. Now not all of that cost is caused by parking as some money would have been spent on refurbish and normal repairs.

It also has to be remembered that from reporting stage to actual repairs being carried out to footpaths sometimes takes over 1 year when footpaths have to be rebuilt due to excessive pounding by motor viechles which increases the risk of compensation claims

There are much more urgent needs to spend money on so even more reason to ban pavement parking nationally.

4. The cost to Society and the erosion of Social values.

By turning a blind eye to motorists driving and parking on pavements has given the motorist an arrogant dominance over the pedestrian which sparks off a dispute when the motorist is challenged. By taking up the whole pavement the motorist feels that he is uppermost in society and has more importance than anyone else.

It has developed into a hate relationship between the motorist and the pedestrian and does not help the road safety cause at all.

In areas where parking is allowed on pavements it is impossible now to enjoy a stroll down the street, to push prams and generally enjoy the place.

It is also very dangerous as motorist often open doors without looking first as it never occurs to them that pedestrians may be around.

Pedestrians also walk in fear of damaging the parked cars. Accidents can and do happen with prams and pushchairs and you can bet that if the owner of the car saw someone damage it they would report the incident. The pedestrian should not be put in that position.

5. Support for pedestrians from the Police and Local Authorities.

When you ask a Local Authority or Constabulary "What constitutes an obstruction" you do not get a clear answer.

The supplement reference Supp/5/A is apparently not an obstruction?

There have been several occasions previous to this reported none of which have,

according to Cambridgeshire Constabulary, been obstructions

Now this is an absolute hideous situation and it highlights the need for some form of standard code of practice if we are stuck with pavement parking in this country.

I have photos of similar pieces of parking around Cambridgeshire none of which are causing obstruction according to the Authorities.

So in essence we pedestrians don’t stand a chance against the motorist the Authorities or Governments. Perhaps The Government is afraid to upset one of its major sources of revenue or perhaps it is just not bold enough to tackle the problem head on.

6. The Insurance requirement

I have made enquiries with 3 major car insurance companies legal departments and posed the same hypothetical question to all.

"Supposing a car you were insuring was involved in an accident or a pedestrian fell or tripped on the car whilst it was illegally parked or driving illegally on a footpath would your cover be valid".

Without hesitation all 3 companies said the insurance would be invalid.

I am also waiting for a response from the Constabulary to see how they would deal with this.

So as I see it if as a result of a car parked on the pavement I have an accident with it by falling against the car or being hit by a door being opened and I sustain an injury I cannot claim against the owner of the car because I would tell the insurance company where it was parked and they wouldn’t pay?.

The local Authority says they wouldn’t pay because it wasn’t there property that caused my injury?.

It would be prohibitive for anyone to sue the owner privately.

7. Suggestions for moving some parked cars off the streets.

In rural areas there is enormous scope to encourage people to use more of their front gardens to park their additional cars. More and more families have a car each and yet make no provision to park there cars safely so as not to be an annoyance to others. Most have garages, which are used for other things.

It is so annoying to drive down the street weaving in and out of parked cars and to see that someone can’t be bothered to park in there driveway or park with the flow particularly at night.

In rural areas parking on the road is becoming more dangerous as lorries and farm implements get bigger each year.

If the Government was to do more to educate the motorist on these matters we might stand a chance, if it is not prepared to then I see a future where we grind to a halt or worse than that we have a free for all.

8. Recommendations I would like the committee to put into its report.

a. I would like to see the government impose a total ban on parking on pavements.

b. I would like to see the government set up a national advertising campaign aimed at motorists on how to protect and respect pedestrians whilst they are driving.

c. I would like to see the government encourage more people to convert their

d. front gardens to park their cars instead of parking them on the streets. There are a lot of properties that have the garden facility, so that parking on the road is a very last resort. If we have to put up with pavement parking I would like to see the government initiate the setting up of a national standard for establishing the measuring of an obstruction. 1metre width of pavement being the minimum and measured from the part of the pavement that is the responsibility of the local authority to the obstruction. This way the public, police and local authorities are all working to the same standard. This sends out a clear message to the motorist, " If it is not possible to keep a clear specified distance when parking then don’t park as you will be reported"

I would also like to suggest that this committee takes into account the following report made by The Select Committee On Transport Seventh Report.

Section 12 Parking Accessibility and paras. 256 to 265, which covers also the subject of pavement parking.

Enclosures with this report: [1] - Supp/1/A-Supp/1/A2

Supp/1/B

Supp/1/C

Supp/1/D

Supp/3/A

Supp/5/A

January 2011