New data has shown where drivers are most likely to get a parking tickets in Tayside and Fife, with local wardens issuing over 21,000 fines in Dundee alone.
In Dundee, parking tickets issued on Crichton Street, Shore Terrace Car Park and Castle Street had a combined value of over £100,000.
Drivers were most likely to get a ticket on these streets, with over 4,000 handed out between January and October.
The city council has issued the most tickets of any local authority in Tayside and Fife this year, with 21,893 fines handed out.
This compared to 7,685 in Fife, where tickets worth over £200,000 have been issued so far this year.
Use our map to see the parking ticket hot spots near you
Kirkcaldy High Street was the most common location for drivers to get stung with a fine in Fife, with wardens handing out 544 tickets there so far this year.
Other top ticketed areas in Fife included East Port in Dunfermline. St Andrews, popular with tourists, accounted for five of the top 15 ticket hot spots.
Parking tickets plummet in lockdown
The number of parking tickets across Tayside and Fife during lockdown dropped significantly.
In March 2020 parking wardens in Perth and Kinross handed out tickets worth over £34,000, but this fell to 0 during April and May.
Dundee reported a similar fall, with £44,220 of fines issued in March compared to £240 in May.
Lockdown had a dramatic impact on parking ticket revenue in the Kingdom, with £19,440 worth of tickets handed out in January 2021, down on the £88,080 worth of tickets issued during the same month the previous year.
Angus Council did not release information on the value of parking notices issued by wardens in the area.
Since lockdown eased earlier this year, the number of parking tickets issued in each local authority have increased back to pre-pandemic levels.
What is a Penalty Charge Notice?
Penalty Charge Notices (PCN) and Excess Charge Notices (ECN) are issued by local authority parking wardens. PCNs usually cost drivers around £60 but can be cheaper if payment is made early.
Colin Mathieson, spokesperson for Advice Direct Scotland, said: “There are various types of parking fines which can be issued to vehicles.
“Parking on public land is mainly managed by local authorities and penalty charge notices (PCNs) are issued by parking attendants.
“You usually have 28 days to pay these, or can appeal to the council – and if this is rejected you can go to the Parking and Bus Lane Tribunal for Scotland.
“If you still refuse to pay, the local authority can take you to court.
“Tickets issued by the police or traffic wardens are called fixed penalty notices and not paying these can be criminal.
“Separately, shopping centres, supermarkets and some private residential estates are classed as private land and sometimes the owners of the land will employ the services of a private company to manage their car parks.
“If you don’t agree that the charge is valid then you can appeal directly to the management company and if that is rejected you can ask if the company is willing to go through the Independent Appeals Service.
“If your appeal fails and you refuse to pay the charge, then the company may take you to court.
“Anyone who wants free advice on a parking fine can contact our advisers on 0808 164 6000 or visit consumeradvice.scot.”
