Stung with a parking fine for an 18-second airport stop to tackle a wasp

No matter what the cause, airports are ruthless in issuing PCNs if a car stops in a red zone. But there is a get-out clause

I had to stop my car for 18 seconds in a red zone at Leeds Bradford airport to deal with a wasp. It was buzzing in front of my face and making safe-driving impossible.

The result was a £100 parking charge notice (PCN) sent to my wife (the registered keeper) by Vehicle Control Services (VCS).

I’ve explained the circumstances to VCS, whose CCTV footage shows I only stopped for seconds and never left the car, but it won’t listen. AW, Hebden Bridge

Its hearing improved when I contacted the airport, which ordered VCS to refund the charge as “goodwill”. The airport tells me that if you had contacted it directly, it would have intervened. However, it is evidently worried that its actions in this case will open the floodgates to wasp-ridden drivers.

“Stopping in this area remains enforceable,” it says sternly. “And due to the safety-critical nature of the road, we would not be able to consider cancellation of any future penalty notices for stopping in this area.” VCS did not respond to a request for a comment.

Parking operators are infamously ruthless when enforcing airport no-stopping zones. Drivers have been charged for stopping at temporary lights, or waiting in traffic queues.

By remarkable coincidence, SM of Pontyclun in Wales also stopped for 18 seconds in an airport red zone. She was billed £100 by VCS, via her husband, who is the vehicle’s registered keeper.

In her case, the airport was Bristol, and she stopped to read the terms and conditions on a sign planted in the no-stopping area.

“I had prepaid £103.60 for three days in the short-stay car park,” she writes. “At the entrance was a prominent sign stating that payment was on exit, and including several lines of information. Confused, I wanted to make sure I was at the right place.”

Her appeal was rejected by VCS, which argued that it is “the motorist’s responsibility to ensure they are familiar with the terms and conditions displayed on the signage”, which is ironic given that SM was doing just that.

It was also rejected by the Independent Appeals Service, which concluded that red-route restrictions prohibit stopping under any circumstances.

“Is it reasonable to expect a motorist to read a substantial amount of car park information while their vehicle is moving, particularly when that information is relevant to determining whether they are entering the correct car park?” asks SM.

There are 24 lines of information, in varying sizes of font, on the sign SM was studying.

Drivers enter a contract when using a car park and are assumed to have agreed the terms and conditions, or else risk a PCN. It was therefore imperative SM read the notice, and not unreasonable she stopped to do so safely.

Bristol airport says: “The customer did not contact us to make us aware of the situation and that she had pre-booked parking. After the circumstances were reviewed, the penalty charge was refunded by the enforcement company.” VCS was contacted for a comment.

In fact, neither AW nor SM were obliged to pay the charge because of a loophole in the law. Airports are “statutory land” governed by bylaws, and are not subject to the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, which governs private parking enforcement in England and Wales.

The act allows private parking operators to pursue the registered keeper of a vehicle for charges. There is no such keeper liability on statutory land, so if the keeper declines to confirm who was driving, the parking operator is powerless. Operators don’t, of course, want you to know this.

The clue is in the small print of PCNs sent to the spouses of AW and SM which “invite” them to pay up or name the driver. Anyone else in this situation should reply stating that as an airport is statutory land, they are not liable as the vehicle keeper and not obliged to name the driver.

Motorists penalised for reasonable stops on land that does fall under the act, may have a future get-out clause.

The government’s newly announced crackdown on private parking charges means that when the new official code of practice takes effect (we don’t have a date yet), charges will be cancelled on appeal for things such as stopping briefly because of a medical emergency (potential wasp stings, hopefully, included).