Throwing litter out of your vehicle could now land you with a £150 fine, which is 50% more than the £100 you could be charged if you were caught speeding. The fine not only applies to drivers but also to passengers who litter, however it will be the driver who is sent the penalty notice to pay.

This new fine increase came into force on April 1st, 2018 and it can be charged on the spot or retrospectively with video evidence. It aims to deter people from littering and decrease a form of anti-social behaviour, which is having such devastating effects across the country’s highways.

Government crackdown on littering

The Government have decided to tackle the litter problem which can be found across the country by increasing the maximum fine from £80 to £150 starting from the 1st of April 2018. However, this comes with fears that councils struggling with funding may use this new fine to make money through hiring private firms to pursue those who have offended.

The fact that this new littering fine is more than the current speeding fine shows just how seriously the Government is taking it, and should really encourage people to stop littering and simply use bins instead. In line with this, at major service stations and motorway services, new bins with much wider openings are being rolled out so that people can drop litter into them from their cars.

The fine can be charged on the spot to anyone seen dropping litter, or throwing it from their car windows, and includes emptying car ashtrays onto the roads or pavements, or discarding food and drink wrappers out of the vehicle rather than waiting to use a bin.

In addition to this, motorists are being asked to share dashcam footage if they capture other drivers or their passengers throwing litter out of a car so that they can be tracked down and issued with a fine retrospectively.

As well as the Police, Community Support Officers, the Environment Agency, and conservation area officials will be able to fine those spotted littering, although ministers have urged that the fines are issued fairly following some unnecessarily harsh actions in the past.

For example, a lady was recently threatened with a £75 fine for tipping a stone out of her shoe which is completely unreasonable, and serious thought needs to be put into the fine before it is issued.

Fines cannot be given to anyone under the age of 10, and the minimum penalty is currently £50 although this will be rising to £65 in April 2019.

Why littering needs to stop

In a Government study, over 80% of the public stated that they supported higher fines for littering as cleaning up this rubbish costs around £700 million per year, which takes a big chunk out of the budget required to keep the road network well maintained.

Environment Minister Therese Coffey hopes that the increased fine will help to tackle anti-social behaviour by targeting those throwing litter out of a vehicle, or dropping it as they are walking.

Not only is littering costing councils’ money, but it also has a very negative effect on the environment as it can contaminate natural water sources, harm wildlife, attract vermin, and facilitates the breeding of bacteria, which is why it is important that people take notice of this new fine, refrain from littering in the future, or report anyone they see littering if they have video evidence to prove it.

How to prevent littering

The best way to ensure that you do not litter from your car, and avoid the potential £150 fine, is to invest in a car bin or always have a plastic bag to hand which can be used to keep rubbish in until you get to your destination.

You should also make your passengers aware that they should not throw litter from the car as this could also mean that you end up getting fined, especially young children who cannot be fined themselves but may not understand the consequences of their actions if they do discard rubbish out of the car windows.

Whenever you stop the car for a break on a long journey or at your end destination take the litter out with you and dispose of it. As mentioned earlier, some service stations now have wide-mouthed bins so you don’t even need to leave the vehicle to dispose of the litter.

Do you think that the increased littering fine of £150 is fair? Would you expect to be fined more for littering than for speeding? Let us know in the comments below.

Motorists are finding it increasingly hard to give other cars enough room when they park due to modern cars getting wider by a foot on average despite car park spaces remaining the same size as the 1980’s. This leads to frustration among drivers and can result in angry notes being left on windscreens, as well as many bumps and scrapes in tight car park spaces.

However, if parking spaces were made bigger there would be less available car park spaces for drivers to use, which would also cause an inconvenience as there are more cars on the road than ever before, all battling for somewhere to park.

Parking rage in Hertfordshire

The size of parking spaces has been brought into the spotlight recently as an angry motorist took to Facebook to complain about the fact that a note had been left on their car, which described their parking as being “disrespectful”.

The owner of the offending car wrote a response back on Facebook to defend their parking. They went on to say that the reason they had parked off centre was to compensate for the parking of the cars either side of them and suggested that the spaces were too narrow for their Volkswagen Tiguan SUV.

The individual who left the note stated that they had ended up having to access their Volkswagen Golf via the passenger door with great difficulty, as they were unable to get into the vehicle through the driver’s door due to how close the Tiguan was parked to them (see image below). This is one example of parking rage, but it is on the rise. In a recent survey by Yourparkingspace.co.uk, 1 in 10 people admit they have had the threat of physical violence because of their parking.

Parking rage generating high emotions

The RAC Foundation has said that it is unsurprising that motorists are finding it increasingly common that people are parking too close as spaces are getting smaller while cars are getting bigger.

For example, in 1988 a Ford Escort was 5-foot-wide, and the latest model is 6-foot-wide, so drivers of this vehicle will be taking up an extra foot which will make the parking space seem very narrow compared to those driving the slimmer model.

This issue is generating high emotions among drivers which is why notes such as the one left in Hertfordshire are being found by drivers more often than they were before. However, wider car parking spaces would mean there would be less available, which would also cause frustration.

In 2016, car park firm National Car Parks (NCP) widened some parking spaces in London, Manchester and Bournemouth to make them more suitable for larger vehicles, but admitted that it is difficult to strike a balance between having wider bays and maximising the number of available spaces to cope with demand.

Parking spaces in the UK tend to be 15.7ft (4.8m) in length, by 7.8ft (2.4m) in width on average, but many larger cars, such as SUVs now exceed these measurements which make them very difficult to park and an inconvenience to other cars that are parked next to such large vehicles.

Tips for protecting your car in car parks

Unfortunately, smaller spaces and larger cars can result in more accidents occurring in car parks, but there are ways that you can minimise this risk.
• Try parking so that you have a car on one side and a wall or barrier on the other, and then park closest to that wall or barrier and you know that will not cause your car damage, whereas being knocked by a car door will.
• Don’t attempt to park in a space that is too small for your car; you only risk one of the cars on either side of you dinging yours if they are not careful when accessing their vehicle on their return.
• Try to find spaces further away from the entrance of the supermarket, shopping mall, or wherever it is that you are visiting, as people are more likely to park closer for the convenience so you may find that it is quieter further away.
• Don’t park next to a large vehicle because they may have difficulty trying to get out of their space due to their size. If you are a driver of a larger vehicle, consider carefully where you park and try to be considerate about the spacing where possible.

It seems there are no clear answers to the issue; increasing parking space sizes will only mean fewer spaces available. Perhaps the Government needs to consider and investigate ways in which this could be resolved by regulating car parking spaces further while seeking ways to clamp down on parking rage incidents.

Do you drive a larger car and find it a struggle to park? Have you ever been left a note about your parking, or left one for someone else? Let us know in the comments below.

Motorists are finding it increasingly hard to give other cars enough room when they park due to modern cars getting wider by a foot on average despite car park spaces remaining the same size as the 1980’s. This leads to frustration among drivers and can result in angry notes being left on windscreens, as well as many bumps and scrapes in tight car park spaces.

However, if parking spaces were made bigger there would be less available car park spaces for drivers to use, which would also cause an inconvenience as there are more cars on the road than ever before, all battling for somewhere to park.

Parking rage in Hertfordshire

The size of parking spaces has been brought into the spotlight recently as an angry motorist took to Facebook to complain about the fact that a note had been left on their car, which described their parking as being “disrespectful”.

The owner of the offending car wrote a response back on Facebook to defend their parking. They went on to say that the reason they had parked off centre was to compensate for the parking of the cars either side of them and suggested that the spaces were too narrow for their Volkswagen Tiguan SUV.

The individual who left the note stated that they had ended up having to access their Volkswagen Golf via the passenger door with great difficulty, as they were unable to get into the vehicle through the driver’s door due to how close the Tiguan was parked to them (see image below). This is one example of parking rage, but it is on the rise. In a recent survey by Yourparkingspace.co.uk, 1 in 10 people admit they have had the threat of physical violence because of their parking.

Parking rage generating high emotions

The RAC Foundation has said that it is unsurprising that motorists are finding it increasingly common that people are parking too close as spaces are getting smaller while cars are getting bigger.

For example, in 1988 a Ford Escort was 5-foot-wide, and the latest model is 6-foot-wide, so drivers of this vehicle will be taking up an extra foot which will make the parking space seem very narrow compared to those driving the slimmer model.

This issue is generating high emotions among drivers which is why notes such as the one left in Hertfordshire are being found by drivers more often than they were before. However, wider car parking spaces would mean there would be less available, which would also cause frustration.

In 2016, car park firm National Car Parks (NCP) widened some parking spaces in London, Manchester and Bournemouth to make them more suitable for larger vehicles, but admitted that it is difficult to strike a balance between having wider bays and maximising the number of available spaces to cope with demand.

Parking spaces in the UK tend to be 15.7ft (4.8m) in length, by 7.8ft (2.4m) in width on average, but many larger cars, such as SUVs now exceed these measurements which make them very difficult to park and an inconvenience to other cars that are parked next to such large vehicles.

Tips for protecting your car in car parks

Unfortunately, smaller spaces and larger cars can result in more accidents occurring in car parks, but there are ways that you can minimise this risk.
• Try parking so that you have a car on one side and a wall or barrier on the other, and then park closest to that wall or barrier and you know that will not cause your car damage, whereas being knocked by a car door will.
• Don’t attempt to park in a space that is too small for your car; you only risk one of the cars on either side of you dinging yours if they are not careful when accessing their vehicle on their return.
• Try to find spaces further away from the entrance of the supermarket, shopping mall, or wherever it is that you are visiting, as people are more likely to park closer for the convenience so you may find that it is quieter further away.
• Don’t park next to a large vehicle because they may have difficulty trying to get out of their space due to their size. If you are a driver of a larger vehicle, consider carefully where you park and try to be considerate about the spacing where possible.

It seems there are no clear answers to the issue; increasing parking space sizes will only mean fewer spaces available. Perhaps the Government needs to consider and investigate ways in which this could be resolved by regulating car parking spaces further while seeking ways to clamp down on parking rage incidents.

Do you drive a larger car and find it a struggle to park? Have you ever been left a note about your parking, or left one for someone else? Let us know in the comments below.