Statistics on Parking Fines In Coach Bays Out Of Season

Summary

The requester sought detailed statistics on parking fines in coach bays and restricted areas, including appeal success rates, to assess the viability of a court hearing. The Department of Infrastructure provided aggregate financial year data for total offences and specific 'reserved parking' codes but clarified that data is not broken down by town, month, or specific appeal outcomes.

Key Facts

• Data is collated by financial year, not by calendar year, month, or region/town.
• The Department does not record the number of appeals received as they are only retained for three months.
• Coach bay offences fall under code 4.4, which also includes other reserved vehicle bays like electric vehicle spots.
• Enforcement patrols are focused on busier areas but can occur on any road on the island.
• Some cancelled tickets may result from successful appeals, but this is not explicitly tracked.

Data Disclosed

• 2018-19 Total Offences: 7767
• 2019-20 Total Offences: 6574
• 2020-21 Total Offences: 5766
• 2018-19 Code 4.4 Offences: 311
• 2019-20 Code 4.4 Offences: 273
• 2020-21 Code 4.4 Offences: 433
• Request received: 2021-12-22
• Response date: 2022-01-14
• Case ID: 2158857

Original Request

I am trying to gauge if it is worth me taking a court hearing option to appeal my parking ticket that was applied in a coach bay when there were other vehicles there and there are actually no coach tours in operation since October. Please can you tell me; For all restricted areas: * How many penalties have been issued in each calendar year by month and region (town) from 2018 to date * How many were appealed * How many successfully appealed For all Coach bay areas: * How many penalties have been issued in each calendar year by month and region (town) from 2018 to date * How many were appealed * How many successfully appealed Finally, * If you patrol and enforce coach only parking all over island

Data Tables (2)

Full Response Text

Appendix 1 CODE DESCRIPTION OF OFFENCE 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 TOTAL OF ALL OFFENCES 7767 6574 5766 Void (e.g.) issued for test purposes, officer commenced writing incorrectly etc. 837 948 627 Cancelled 717 718 922 Breakdown of FPNs issued in each of the last 3 financial years, categorised by offence

Appendix 2 CODE DESCRIPTION OF OFFENCE 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 4.4 Parking on other parking place reserved for another vehicle or class of vehicles 311 273 433 Breakdown of FPNs issued in each of the last 3 financial years, categorised by offence

Department of Infrastructure Sea Terminal Building, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM1 2RF

Contact: FOI Response Team/AD/RH Telephone: (01624) 686785 Email: dpo-doi@gov.im

Our ref: 2158857 14 January 2022

Dear ###

We write further to your request which was received on 22 December 2021 and which states:

"I am trying to gauge if it is worth me taking a court hearing option to appeal my parking ticket that was applied in a coach bay when there were other vehicles there and there are actually no coach tours in operation since October. Please can you tell me; For all restricted areas: * How many penalties have been issued in each calendar year by month and region (town) from 2018 to date * How many were appealed * How many successfully appealed For all Coach bay areas: * How many penalties have been issued in each calendar year by month and region (town) from 2018 to date * How many were appealed * How many successfully appealed Finally, * If you patrol and enforce coach only parking all over island"

The answer to your question is as follows: The data requested is collated at the end of each financial year to indicate the number of fixed penalties issued during that period. The data is not categorised by the town or region it was issued.

Attached in Appendix 1 is a table showing the total number of fixed penalty notices (FPN) issued each year, the number of FPN’s voided and the number of FPN’s cancelled. Appeals are only retained for three months and so the Department does not record the number of appeals received. Some of the cancelled tickets can be due to successful appeals. The Department will void (or take no further action) if we note a ticket has been issued incorrectly or was used for training purposes etc., but this may also be captured during an appeal. Coach bay offences fall under offence code 4.4; Appendix 2 shows the number of FPN’s issued each year under this offence code. However, the figures shown in this category are not explicit to coach bays only and extend to offences relating to other bays reserved for specific vehicles, such as electric vehicle bay or reserved parking places. The Department can enforce coach bays on any road on the island. Currently, patrols are focused in and around busier areas. Routine mobile patrols are also sent to rural areas as and when deemed necessary.

Please quote the reference number 2158857 in any future communications.

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