Local authority powers to require drivers to switch off engines when parked: guidance

LOCAL AUTHORITY POWERS TO REQUIRE DRIVERS TO SWITCH OFF ENGINES WHEN PARKED Guidance Issued Under Section 88 of the Environment Act 1995

ANNEX 2: FIXED PENALTY NOTICE EXPLANATORY NOTES

Guidance Notes (Parked Vehicles)

(Regulation 98 of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986)

Legal Basis for Local Authority Roadside Emissions Enforcement

The Road Traffic (Vehicle Emissions) (Fixed Penalty) (Scotland) Regulations 2003 enable local authority Authorised Persons to request vehicle users to switch off engines when parked and to issue Fixed Penalty Notices to those who refuse to co-operate. It is a requirement of Regulation 98 of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986, as amended, that drivers switch off engines in parked vehicles.

The offence is an existing one but local authorities have only since 1 April 2003 been given the power to carry out enforcement of the offence in an effort to address the growing concerns about pollution and the environment.

Nature of the Offence

It is an absolute offence under Section 42 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 to use (or cause or permit to be used) a vehicle on a road if it does not comply with the relevant provisions of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986, as amended. The offence does not depend upon guilty knowledge and therefore it is not possible to mount a defence on the basis that a vehicle user did not know that the vehicle was in contravention of the Regulations at the time they were using it on a road.

You (as named on the Notice itself) have been issued with the Notice because you were the user of the vehicle specified on the Notice when it was found by an Authorised Person with its engine running unnecessarily when parked.

You, as the vehicle user, have committed an offence under Section 42 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and have accordingly been issued with a fixed penalty through this Notice.

NB The offence is continuous. Anyone using the vehicle specified on the Notice on a road will remain liable to separate enforcement action should it be parked and the engine left running unnecessarily.

Rights of Representation

You may request a hearing in respect of the absolute offence to which the Notice refers provided the request is received at the address shown on the Notice within 28 days of the Date of Issue of the Notice. A hearing would effectively be a prosecution of the offence in court. Should you request a hearing the Fixed Penalty Notice would fall.

Queries

Any queries about the Fixed Penalty Notice should similarly be made in writing to the address specified on the Notice.

NB You should note that entering into correspondence with the local authority does not remove your liability to pay this Fixed Penalty in full by the due date.

Consequences of non-payment of fixed penalty

If you request a hearing within the specified time, the hearing will determine whether the offence has been committed and if so what the penalty should be. You should not send any payment before the hearing has been held.

In all other cases, failure to make sure that the fixed penalty payment is received by the Issuing Authority by the methods set out on the Notice within 28 days of the Date of Issue of the Notice WILL RESULT IN THE FIXED PENALTY AMOUNT AUTOMATICALLY INCREASING FROM 20.00 TO 40.00. The Issuing Authority will not issue a reminder of this Notice.

Failure to pay an increased fixed penalty within 56 days of the Date of Issue of the Notice will result in the Issuing Authority taking further enforcement action to recover the debt.

NB AS USER OF THE VEHICLE AT THE TIME THE OFFENCE WAS COMMITTED YOU ARE LIABLE TO PAY THE FIXED PENALTY WHETHER OR NOT YOU OWN THE VEHICLE.