[ABD Logo]The Association of British Drivers
Local Issues — North Yorkshire
ABD Local co-ordinator: Email  

 
Note that we now have a seperate page for the City of York, it being a seperate authority from the county:
 
 
2008-09
Common Sense on Parking For Once
We're pleased to report a rare occurance of common sense on parking. A recent letter to the Daily telegrpah tells how Harrogate Borough Council recently refunded a parking fine after a visitor to the town complained of being confused by the parking disc scheme.
Of course it would be better if there was no parking disk scheme at all, but at least this is glimmer of hope in an otherwise mad country.
 
 
Source: National Statistics — Road Casualties in Great Britain.
2007: North Yorkshire Police
See also PR492 re hospital admission figures.
Scamera Free Zone
North Yorkshire does not have a speed camera partnership, and has no fixed speed cameras. Speed enforcement is carried out only by the police. The accident history for North Yorkshire, when compared with areas that do have speed cameras, show that speed cameras have made no difference whatsoever to accidents in other areas.
 
The local road safety partnership offer sensible and practical advice to drivers, which the ABD totally endorses:-
 
"If drivers would adjust their speed to suit the layout of the road they are on and the conditions — weather, darkness — that alone would make a significant difference."

Chris Anderson
Deputy Chief Fire Officer

 
Scarborough Parking Fiasco
Scarborough Borough Council seem to be hell bent on discouraging anyone from parking in the town. Parking charges and restrictions have increased astronomically over the last 5 years.
In the financial year 2003–2004, the council made a record £3.3 million from parking fees.
The council's parking policy has been widely condemned by residents, visitors, businesses, and even councillors. Many businesses see that it is doing significant damage to the town's tourist economy.
Maladministration
In September 2004, the council was found guilty of maladministration by the Local Government Ombudsman after road markings and signs relating to parking where shown not to comply with legal requirements. As if that was not bad enough, the council's practice of pursuing unpaid tickets with civil court action was declared unlawful. The council were using powers available for decriminalised parking schemes, but had not actually bothered to apply to the government to run such a scheme.
The illegal practices would probably still be happening today had not somebody made the mistake of slapping a ticket on a car belonging to the daughter of former Scarborough police traffic sergeant Keith Hughes. The council pursued her for non-payment and got more than they bargained for.
 
The entire fiasco serves as a case study of what happens when councils become swept up by anti-car hysteria.
 
SEN: Scarborough Evening News
The Culprits?
Difficult to say, as no-one seems to have identified the individuals responsible, but these names are mentioned in various reports as supporting the council's parking policy:
We'll leave the final word to the council themselves. The page below tells you all about yellow, orange, lilac and blue streets; red, lilac, orange and green areas; scratch cards, disk clocks; pink, dark blue, and light blue pay & display areas.
Isn't Scarborough supposed to be a holiday resort where people go to enjoy themsleves? It just beggars belief that the council actually expect visitors to understand such lunacy.

 
Police Accidents Increase by a staggering 239%
Accidents involving police cars in North Yorkshire increased from 117 in 2001–2 to 397 in 2002–3. Maybe North Yorkshire Police should get their own house in order before telling the public to drive safely.
Elsewhere on the ABD website:
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