Fine cheats' cars set to be seized

Three strikes and out. That's the Government's new no-tolerance approach to motorists flouting road rules

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New rules will make it easy for authorities to lift cars of drivers who fail to pay three parking or traffic fines in a row

By Julie Sinclair

30th March 2007

It's penning new regulations which will give traffic wardens the power to seize vehicles if the registered owner has failed to pay three parking or traffic fines in a row, and has not made an appeal. This already applies to an estimated 50,000 drivers in London. When the new rules come into effect, they would have days to pay up, or lose their wheels.


	Once owners hit the three outstanding fines mark, they would be placed on a persistent evaders' database, according to Transport for London

Once owners hit the three outstanding fines mark, they would be placed on a persistent evaders' database, according to Transport for London (TfL). The cars could then be immediately lifted from anywhere - even driveways - and owners would have 56 days to clear their debt, before their vehicle is sold. However, a TfL spokesman insisted that it wasn't trying to target honest motorists who were genuinely unaware they had been accruing fines.

"If they've recently bought a car and the keeper details haven't been transferred, for example, they could pay a £200 bond to stop it being towed. This would give them time to get the paperwork up to date," he said.

Drivers of foreign registered cars will also be targeted by the Transport for London and London Local Authorities Bill, which is still passing through Parliament. They often slip through the net, as it is difficult to trace them back to their home country.

The new rules are currently only planned for London, and are being put in place to catch motorists trying to dodge paying the congestion charge.