Skip to main content

I was fined £100 for charging my car at a motorway service station

The time limit for free parking is two hours but I had to wait 30 minutes just to get the use of a charging point

I stopped at Abington services on the M74 to charge my electric car. I had to wait over half an hour for a connector to become free, then spent an hour and a half charging. Ten days later, I received a £100 penalty charge for exceeding the two-hour free parking period. Like most people, I’ve never spent more than two hours in a motorway service station and it didn’t cross my mind to buy a ticket. Others should be warned that when charging, it’s easy to run over the limit.
DW, Cupar, Fife

The mandatory free parking period, which applies to service stations across the UK, belongs to a different era when two hours was ample to use the lav and buy a meal. The rationale was that without a parking limit, the public would embrace service stations as a destination for a delightful day out, rather than as a pit stop.

Continue reading...

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

German police crack down on illegal street car tuning as season begins

Enthusiasts gathering on Good Friday – renamed Carfreitag – face curbs on unauthorised tuning, illegal races and pollution Police in Germany have announced a crackdown on illegal racing and the unauthorised modification of cars as members of the so-called tuning scene meet across the country for the start of their annual season. The Good Friday holiday marking Christ’s death on the cross, called Karfreitag in German – from the Old High German word kara , meaning sorrow – is otherwise known by the extreme car enthusiasts as Carfreitag (car Friday) for its unofficial gathering of the “tuners” and “car posers”. Continue reading...

One in four cars sold in May in Australia was an EV or hybrid vehicle, data shows

Automative industry findings show Australians have purchased double the number of hybrid vehicles this year compared to the same period last year Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our morning and afternoon news emails , free app or daily news podcast Australian drivers bought a record number of new vehicles in May, with many choosing to reduce their fuel costs by choosing hybrid and electric models. Almost one in four new cars bought in Australia is a low-emission vehicle, as hybrid and electric models claim a bigger share of the market. But Australia’s love for large vehicles is still on the rise, with SUVs dominating and ute sales continuing to grow. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Continue reading...

Nissan open to making cars for Chinese partner in Sunderland, says CEO

Ivan Espinosa says UK plant will not be hit by cost cuts as Japanese firm reveals seven factories to close Business live – latest updates Nissan’s new chief executive has said the Japanese carmaker would be open to building cars for a Chinese partner at its factory in Sunderland as he confirmed it would not be closed in a round of deep cost cuts. This week Nissan revealed plans to close seven factories and cut 20,000 jobs after sustaining heavy losses. Continue reading...