MORE than 10,000 fines have been issued to thousands of drivers caught out by a CCTV car in Reading in just one year.

Driving rule breaches can be enforced in a number of ways, with one of the methods being used is Reading Borough Council’s Peugeot CCTV enforcement car.

The small car has a number plate recognition camera installed on it which is used to catch out rule-breaking drivers.

According to the latest figures, the CCTV car was responsible for 10,102 fines being issued.

Of those, 9,659 were issued after drivers parked along the red route in the town, which was first introduced in 2018.

The red route bans parking at any time in an effort to speed up bus journeys.
You can see the places where the most fines, also known as -Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs)- were issued in the table below:

Drivers were hit with 329 fines for parking at bus stops and stands, and 114 fines were issued for those parking at ‘School Keep Clear’ road markings in 2022/23.

After a steep rise in the number of fines issued from 2020/21 to 2021/22, the number of fines issued has actually declined by 1,981 from the 12,083 fines in 2021/22.

Those who are caught must pay a £70 fine, which drops to £35 if paid within 21 days.

A PCN can also be challenged or written off for other reasons.

The lion’s share of the PCNs issued by the CCTV car were red route contraventions, which is also enforced by the council’s army of parking enforcement officers.

Red route fines issued by enforcement officers increased by 334 to 1,172 in 2022/23, compared with 838 in 2021/22.

The figures are accessible from the council’s Annual Parking Services Report 2022/23, which will be presented at its traffic management sub-committee on March 6.