Skip to main content

London borough using public space protection orders to create safe roads round schools

The London Borough of Havering has introduced Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) to crack down on dangerous driving and parking during the school run. The pilot scheme uses Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs), making anti-social driving a criminal offence in areas around schools.
March 2, 2017 Read time: 2 mins

The London Borough of Havering has introduced Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) to crack down on dangerous driving and parking during the school run.  The pilot scheme uses Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs), making anti-social driving a criminal offence in areas around schools.

The pilot follows an abortive campaign by the school including letters to parents, 1,200 parking fines, excellent school travel planning and letters from the children themselves pleading for a change in behaviour. The Borough believes that the deterrent of potential criminal proceedings is the best way to improve road safety during term time.

To enforce the new scheme, a 7513 Videalert CCTV-based traffic enforcement and management system has been installed as part of an initial pilot contract awarded to OpenView Security Solutions.

The Borough says the pilot scheme has resulted in a 90 per cent reduction in traffic in and around schools during drop off and pick up times.  A full consultation with parents and local residents was carried out prior to invoking PSPO legislation which showed 77 per cent or higher approval ratings for each of the first four schools initially chosen to pilot the scheme.

Related Content

  • February 2, 2012
    Cross-border enforcement close to becoming a reality
    TISPOL Director Ad Hellemons offers the organisation's perspective on the issue of cross-border enforcement of traffic penalties, the progress that has been made and the potential hurdles yet to be overcome
  • September 9, 2016
    UK drivers want to be insured against hackers
    According to a new survey of almost 1,200 people by road safety charity IAM RoadSmart, 74 per cent of drivers think insurers should provide cover for damage caused by hackers accessing control systems in driverless cars. The results of this survey have been used to guide IAM RoadSmart’s response to the Centre for Connected & Autonomous Vehicles’ consultation, Pathway to Driverless Cars.
  • October 26, 2017
    FSB responds to RAC Foundation figures on 8 million local authority parking penalties issued in UK
    The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has responded to a report from the RAC Foundation which showed that 8 million local authority parking penalties are issued annually across England and Wales. This figure is included in the Automated Road Traffic Enforcement: Regulation, Governance and Use - for the RAC Foundation report by Dr Adam Snow, a lecturer in criminology at Liverpool Hope University.
  • December 4, 2012
    ITS World Congress debates perceptions of enforcement
    The technical programme of this year’s ITS World Congress in Vienna includes a special session on the image of enforcement. ITS International examines the scale of the problem and what can be done about it. Debate on the merits and difficulties of enforcing speed limits appears centred on a conflict of principles. Put very simply, local communities, people living close to busy or hazardous roads, want to see traffic speeds calmed. Drivers on those roads, on the whole, want their principle of freedom to be m