Barnet PCN - 10 minute grace periods

The above rule, introduced by The Rt Hon 'Uncle' Eric Pickles MP, a fan of the Barnet Bloggers, stopped some of the predatory tactics employed by traffic wardens. It meant that if you were up to ten minutes late getting back to your car, as your meeting or whatever ran over, then you could not be given a PCN. The new rule came into force on 6 April 2015.

Mr Mustard asked to see the briefing which had been given to the NSL employed Barnet Council traffic wardens at the time that the new grace period came in. Here it is.

Official briefings really should be on proper paper.

Mr Mustard didn't find that to be a clear explanation of the new grace period but it is useful in other ways.

Firstly the new grace period means that if you have paid for a period of parking, on street or in a car park, or you availed yourself of a free parking period, which ended at 11:00 the earliest you can be given a PCN is 11:11.

Barnet Council have generously decided to not give you a PCN if you are visiting friends who live within a CPZ and the resident bay hours commence at 10:00 you will not be given a PCN before 10:11 (Mr Mustard is sure this is not being applied).

Similarly if you are in a goods vehicle loading bay, or other bay specific to a certain type of vehicle, which commences at 08:00 you will not be given a PCN before 08:11 (Mr Mustard doesn't think this is being applied either).

Blue badge holders who breach the 3 hour limit which sometimes applies now get an extra 10 minutes to get back to their vehicle.

Mr Mustard hopes that is clear. He will be checking all the PCN in his current workload as he can now probably report a few process errors.

You can find the above response on the council website, here, should you need to use it to argue your corner (ref 3278097). Isn't Freedom of Information wonderful. Mr Mustard doesn't ask much nowadays of Barnet Council, probably only one question a month, but they are usually very good ones.

Yours frugally

Mr Mustard

Mr Musatrd is off to put his feet up very shortly, drink champagne and eat too much food until 5 January 2017.

Blue Badges in Harrow - some leeway

Mr Mustard did not know that Harrow let you use a blue badge which is up to 14 days out of date. This is probably because it takes the pressure off them to renew in a hurry. In the instant case the blue badge was actually 19 days out of date.

This dispensation my exist in other boroughs so if you are waiting for your new badge you might as well put the old one out (even though technically it has no effect). The blue badge holder must be in the car when parked or is being collected soon after parking.

Yours frugally

Mr Mustard

Watching and waiting

There is a lot of talk by motorists of a 5 minutes grace period before they should be given a parking ticket. This is an urban myth which still reaches PATAS quite often.

Mr Mustard does sometimes use observation periods as part of his usually multiple representations but only when NSL's traffic wardens have failed to follow the observations periods set out in the Contract as after all what's the point in there being a specification if it isn't enforced. He hasn't yet had a case turn on this at PATAS but doubtless one day this will be his only argument and he will be ready for it. The council are under a general duty to be fair which they aren't if they allow their contractor to breach the contract and they, the council, profit by it.

The contraventions with observations times are these ones (as written in the contract, the PCN wording might be different as they change a little over time) and if your contravention isn't listed that means a PCN can and will be issued instantly.

On street

5. Parked after the expiry of paid for time - 5 mins

11. Payment without payment of the parking charge - 3 mins

19. Parked in a residents or shared use parking place or zone without clearly displaying either a permit or voucher or pay and display ticket for that place - 3 mins

25. Parked in a loading place during restricted hours without loading - 5 mins*

(* depends on vehicle class so cars will get less observation than commercial vehicles.)

30. Parked for longer than permitted - 5 mins 

Off street

73. Parked without payment of the parking charge - 3 mins

80. Parked for longer than the maximum period permitted - 5 mins

82. Parked after the expiry of paid for time - 5 mins

85. Parked in a permit bay without clearly displaying a valid permit - 5 minutes

Every other codes will pretty much lead to an instant PCN except (in theory) commercial vehicles unloading on a single or double yellow (code 01) which have an untimed observation period set in the contract.

So, don't argue that you only nipped into the newsagents for 5 minutes to buy a newspaper whilst on double yellow as you will lose. Find other arguments or learn a lesson, pay the 50% and make sure you don't get caught again, by following the rules. Parking on single or double yellows is a higher rate contravention which in Barnet costs you £110. If you accidentally break the rules it is better to break a lower rate contravention at £60 such as overstaying the paid for time, or without paying at all, or parking in a residents bay.

For a sense of scale Mr Mustard checked the numbers of PCN which should have been subject to a period of observation. There were 168,179 PCN issued in the year to 31 March 13 and the number issued for the above codes was 45,746 so 27% of PCN are issued after an observation period (which often isn't given) and 73% aren't. You have been warned.

Yours frugally

Mr Mustard