Think Your Parking Ticket Is Bad? These Are Britain’s Biggest Driving Fines
Whether it’s for speeding, a parking violation or using a disabled bay, driving-related fines can be expensive. But spare a moment for these poor motorists who were issued with the most expensive driving fines in the UK’s history…
Parking Outside Of A Garage – £24,500
This is the most expensive fine we could find in the world of motoring (at least in the UK). Carly Mackie, a resident of Dundee, managed to rack up an innumerable amount of parking tickets. She’d been parking on double yellow lines outside of her parents’ garage, incorrectly believing this made her exempt. Ignoring the tickets, she was eventually taken to court and landed with £24,500 worth of bills; ultimately being declared bankrupt. Ouch. The moral of the story? Your interpretation of the law can be way, way off.
Abandoning A Car – £14,000
Cars are abandoned all of the time. If the owner can’t be traced, they’re usually picked up and scrapped. That the process is so simple is usually because they’re abandoned on public land administered by councils. This wasn’t the case with a black Mercedes-Benz S-Class that was abandoned in a Birmingham car park. It was left there for three years, collecting a £13 fine daily. It’s not clear what happened to the car, but if the owner is ever found he or she will face a total charge of around £14,000.
Parking In Disabled Spaces – £14,000
We sympathise with many people who end up with expensive fines, but not in this case. David Lee, a Mondeo owner, managed to accumulate fines worth up to £14,000 by repeatedly parking in disabled parking bays. So confident that the fines were unenforceable, he even put up a sign declaring ‘put your unenforceable parking invoice here’. Unfortunately for Mr Lee, they were enforceable. He later said, “I am very embarrassed about all this”. We would be too, David.
Absolutely Nothing – £781
What’s worse than receiving an expensive fine for improper driving? Receiving an expensive fine for absolutely nothing, that’s what. That’s precisely what happened to Denise Legeay Humberstone, from Surrey. She’d paid to park at her local shopping centre, only to discover later that nearly £800 had been removed from her bank account. It transpired that ‘technical’ problems had caused some drivers to be charged £80 per minute of being parked. Fortunately, for Denise, the local council agreed to a full refund.
Reading A Sign – £70
Ok, so maybe £70 doesn’t imply the most expensive fine ever; but it certainly is in relation to the ‘offence’. David Osborne pulled over on a street in Bristol to read a sign detailing parking restrictions. Despite being stationary for no more than 90 seconds, he was slapped with a fine. After some deliberation, the local council backed down and refunded the money. So next time you’re in Bristol, maybe consider researching parking restrictions in advance?
Lockdown: Motorists ‘Still Insured’ When Making Non-Essential Journeys – https://autoserveclub.co.uk/blog/lockdown-motorists-still-insured-when-making-non-essential-journeys/
Motorists Stand Opposed To Highway Code Changes – https://autoserve.co.uk/motoring-news/motorists-stand-opposed-to-highway-code-changes/
