Council names and shames foreign super car drivers who flout parking laws

Brazenly pulled up on yellow lines in some of London's most salubrious locations, the wealthy owners of these super cars pay little heed to the rules of the road.




But a council is naming and shaming drivers of foreign-registered vehicles in an attempt to recover nearly 4 million owed in unpaid parking fines.

Westminster Council claims the owners of Bugattis, Ferraris and Lamborghinis routinely flout parking restrictions because they know officials are powerless to trace them in their own countries.

The council, Britain's largest parking authority, accuses the culprits of a "blatant disregard" for the country's road laws by refusing to pay the penalties.

In the past three years, offenders have failed to settle a total of 36,332 parking tickets, leaving the council 3,776,490 pounds out of pocket.

Top of the authority's most wanted list is the owner of a £300,000 Rolls-Royce Phantom, who owes them 2,000 pounds for 18 parking tickets.

While the owner of a Bugatti Veyron L'Edition Centenaire would have lavished 1.2 million on buying their 250mph car, they have failed to pay a 120 pound fine for parking on a single yellow line outside Selfridges.

Despite having the distinctive car registration 111111, the council is also struggling to track the driver of a red and black Bugatti Veyron ticketed this month near Marble Arch. All three cars are on Arabic plates.

Other prolific offenders include owners of a US registered Hummer and a Lamborghini Murcielago from Dubai.

Westminster Council is calling on the Government to help establish a system of international co operation to allow local authorities to trace foreign motorists – 80 per cent of whom refuse to pay fines.

Currently, there are no laws to provide parking authorities with access to overseas driver and vehicle registration data to chase up parking fines.

New EU legislation will allow member states to share such information but experts say British authorities will not be able to use the law because parking offences are not classified as criminal offences in this country.

Cllr Lee Rowley, Westminster Council's cabinet member for parking, said: "British taxpayers can no longer foot the bill for foreign motorists who seem think the rules of this country do not apply to them.

"We would like to see a more rigorous system put in place to hold these drivers to account and send a clear message that this blatant disregard of the law will not be tolerated."

Officials say the problem is most pronounced among vehicles registered in the Middle East, which are frequently seen parked on yellow lines, in bus lanes or in residents' parking bays in expensive parts of the capital.

Many wealthy Arabs have their sports cars flown into Britain by private jet during the so called 'season' in July and August, when it has become fashionable to visit London.

The issue follows complaints, from residents in Knightsbridge over sports car owners shattering their night time peace by racing through the streets around Harrods.

The Daily Telegraph disclosed last week that campaigners claim wealthy Middle Eastern visitors are making residential roads "like the starting grid of Le Mans" since the Qatari royal family purchased the department store in May.

Official figures earlier this year show that owners of foreign registered vehicles evade motoring fines totaling nearly 15 million pounds each year across Britain.

Sparks, a coalition of London councils established to tackle the problem, said 330,000 tickets worth 12.9 million are issued to foreign registered vehicles in London each year for parking and other contraventions. One in eight foreign registered vehicle owners fails to pay their congestion charge.

In June it emerged that foreign diplomats in the capital owe more than 37 million in unpaid congestion charges, parking fines and other motoring penalties.

Last year, Westminster Council wrote off more than 20 million in unpaid parking fines after failing to trace the owners of offending vehicles.

Owners of vehicles on foreign number plates are allowed to drive them temporarily in Britain for a total of six months in any 12 month period without registering them or taxing them in the UK.

After that they must register and tax them with British plates through the DVLA.

Those with number plates bearing letters or numbers not identifiable in Britain must obtain a temporary registration mark from the DVLA for the duration of their visit.






Original article by Murray Wardrop
Published: 7:30AM BST 14 Aug 2010
Telegraph.co.uk