The combination of cameras and driving can be a blessing or a curse, depending on your perspective. On the one hand, the best dash cams are great should you ever be involved in a collision. But, conversely, law enforcement cameras could ruin your day if you happen to get caught straying over the speed limit. Speed limit enforcement cameras have been in use for decades, along with red light cameras, automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras, and even noise pollution cameras. But did you know police in Wales now have cameras that can detect illegal parking?
Back in 2020 Newport City Council deployed a specialist enforcement car fitted with cameras that can detect cars parked in a variety of illegal locations, such as in school zones and bus stops, on pedestrian crossings, and in other areas of road where no parking is permitted. A photo of the camera car shows a pair of roof mounted, front-facing cameras angled slightly sideways to detect vehicles parked on either side of the road as the camera car is being driven. No detail is given regarding exactly how the cameras work, but I'd speculate that they are linked to specialist processing equipment that can read road signs/markings warning of parking restrictions, and can also detect the presence of a vehicle contravening such warnings. The cameras are highly likely to be equipped with ANPR capability, enabling the enforcement car to automatically issue fines to offending vehicle owners. It's also possible the camera car has been pre-programed with GPS data detailing the precise locations of parking restrictions, so the onboard cameras are primed to detect potential vehicles parked in those coordinates.
Though the cost of such a specialised camera car has been estimated to be between £30,000 and £50,000 ($37,500-62,400), almost 22,000 Penalty Charge Notices (fines) for illegal parking were issued in Newport between July 2019 and August 2020. At £70 each, that could be up to £1.5million in annual fines, making the initial cost of the camera car seem insignificant. Unsurprisingly, with this much potential revenue for local law enforcement, other areas of Wales are seeking to follow Newport, with nearby Torfaen Borough Council close to deploying its own parking camera car on local streets.
So if you're tempted to park illegally, it might not be long before similar mobile cameras are watching you.
