Motorists could be hit with a hefty £100 penalty for breaking one obscure car park regulation that many drivers remain unaware of. While parking discs have largely vanished from Britain's towns and cities, those venturing to the UK's villages and smaller communities this Bank Holiday Weekend will need to quickly familiarise themselves with how these devices operate.
A parking disc is a gadget that displays the time a motor vehicle is left in a designated zone with temporal limitations. It's a clock-style disc or card that motorists position on their dashboard to demonstrate the time they arrive at the parking space.
Usually, they must be collected from local retailers or tourist information centres, meaning visitors often overlook the requirement to obtain them.
Graham Conway, managing director at Select Car Leasing, explained: "Parking discs are a slightly old-school method of enforcement but still practical for lots of local councils, particularly in rural or coastal towns.
"The problem is that if you're not from an area that runs a parking disc system, or perhaps if you're from a younger generation, you might not have a clue what a parking disc even is. And parking attendants won't care one bit if you're only visiting a place for the first time and are confused about the rules."
With the Met Office predicting milder conditions for the bank holiday weekend, numerous families will be travelling to stunning locations that continue to use parking discs, reports Birmingham Live. Some of these include Cumbria's Lake District and parts of North Yorkshire, including Scarborough and Whitby. Parts of West Sussex, such as Littlehampton and Bognor Regis, also have the parking disc system in place.
This comes as parents are warned that a straightforward mistake could see them slapped with a £500 penalty before the new school term starts, should they fail to comply with child car seat regulations. Specialists at Hippo Leasing stated, "Ensure your child's car seat meets legal requirements. If not, you could face a £500 fine, and more importantly, you're putting your child at risk in the event of an accident."
They continued: "Height-based seats are known as 'i-Size' seats. They must be rear-facing until your child is over 15 months old. Your child can use a forward-facing child car seat when they're over 15 months old. You must check the seat to make sure it's suitable for the height of your child."
Those aged over 14 travelling in a minibus, coach, or bus must wear a seatbelt if one is provided, while passengers aged 14 and above in either the front or back seat "must" use a fitted seatbelt. The individual passenger is accountable for this requirement.
Children aged 12 or older, or those exceeding 135cm in height, must wear a "seatbelt or correct child restraint must be used if fitted" when seated in the front. If a child is positioned in the back seat, they must also wear a "seatbelt or correct child restraint," with the motorist being held responsible. The driver and all passengers over 14 years old must also wear a seat belt if available.
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