Always pay attention to car park signs

Parking signs primarily indicate if you are allowed to park in the area and for how long.  There are, of course, some differences depending on where you live.  With a few simple tips, it will be easy to read the signs, understand the rules, and, therefore, avoid any parking charge notices/breaches.  Often, it is the policy to read the sign from the top down.  At the top, it may have a ‘P’ so you know you can park there, if you look underneath, there is a time limit, which can vary from 1, 2, 3 or 4 hours normally. There are signs which show the time in minutes too, i.e. 120 mins for a 2-hour stay. The signs may also tell you which days of the week these rules apply.

Signs in red often mean you cannot park in the parking bay.  It could be a loading dock for example.  Sometimes the signs in private car parks will be different to the ones used by Councils.  Moreover, in many car parks ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition)  is used where your licence plate is scanned as you enter and exit the car park.  This records the time you were there, and if you followed the rules of the car park, i.e. whether you stayed for the allocated time, and if payment was required, whether you indeed paid.  A common mistake made is when a driver ‘moves’ their car within a car park, believing this action gives them another 2 hours free.  It will not work because the ANPR cameras only pick up when you arrive and leave to ensure compliance with the time limits set.

When parking in any space/bay, pay attention to the signage nearby to avoid problems. Smart Parking always displays the correct number of signs for the size of the car park that is being managed.