Scottish councils rake in nearly £1m in fines from drivers breaking new parking rules
Check the full list below to see how many fines were collected in your area
KERB YOUR ENTHUSIASM Scottish councils rake in nearly £1m in fines from drivers breaking new parking rules
SCOTTISH councils have made nearly £1m in fines from motorists breaking new parking laws.
Local authorities were handed the power to fine people for a full range of bad habits that have become common on the roads.
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Scotland's councils have made nearly £1m in fines from new parking rules
Credit: John Kirkby - Commissioned by The Sun
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The new regulations have been rolled out across some parts of the country
Credit: John Kirkby - Commissioned by The Sun
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They were brought in to stop pedestrians, wheelchair users and people with prams from being forced onto the road
Credit: Alamy
MSPs passed the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019, which gave councils the power to issue penalties to drivers who break new rules.
It makes it an offence to park with the wheels of the car mounted on the pavement.
The new regulations also gave parking wardens the power to fine motorists for parking in front of dropped kerbs and double parking.
The new rules were brought in to stop pedestrians, especially people in wheelchairs and those pushing buggies, being forced on to the road by vehicles on the pavement.
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Councils were given the option whether to enforce the new rules since January last year.
Several areas announced the new regulations would be rolled out while lists of streets given exemptions were also issued.
Many warned residents the new rules were coming, with a grace period where drivers were only warned about their parking and told when the rollout started they would be facing fines.
Motorists are fined £100 for violations, but have this halved to £50 if they pay within two weeks.
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New figures obtained by The Scottish Sun by Freedom of Information request has revealed the number of fines from January 2024 until March 2025 have added up to a whopping £941,045.41.
Traffic wardens have slapped 24,158 tickets on windscreens of cars double parked, in front of dropped kerbs or that are mounted on the pavement.
I can't walk on my own street because of 'selfish' drivers blocking pavement
The City of Edinburgh Council was the first to roll out the new rules, and leads the way in terms of fines.
The capital has collected £441,469 in fines from pavement parking, 47 per cent of all fines collected across Scotland.
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Officials said their year's worth of enforcement has seen drivers ditch their bad habits and keep their wheels off the kerbs.
Councillor Stephen Jenkinson, Transport and Environment Convenor said: 'The City of Edinburgh Council was the first local authority in Scotland to issue parking tickets for footway parking, pedestrian dropped-kerb parking and double parking, with enforcement starting in the city in January 2024.
"As such, we have been issuing tickets for parking on pavements for longer than any other Council in Scotland, so it isn't surprising to see the proportion of penalties collected by the Council against the overall figure.
'Since the start of enforcement, we have seen many residents and visitors to the city changing their parking habits, with our pavements now safer and more accessible for everyone.'
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Pavement parking dominates fines
PAVEMENT parking dominated the fines handed out under the new rules.
Motorists leaving their motors mounted on the curbs was the most common offence that saw drivers ticketed.
Enforcement officers handed out 18,259 tickets for pavement parking.
Only Aberdeen, Angus and Perth & Kinross councils were able to offer specific breakdowns on what motorists were fined for.
From these councils, £133,447 was paid by drivers who parked on the pavement.
The second most common fine was parking on dropped kerbs, which saw 3,283 motorists fined across Scotland.
And 2,616 people were fined for double parking.
Edinburgh was followed by North Ayrshire, which has had £126,450 paid to them in fines.
Dundee took third place with £118,450 and Aberdeen came fourth with a total of £85,697.
While Angus Council has been paid ££53,601 and Midlothian Council raked in £35,100.
Glasgow City Council, the country's biggest local authority, collected just £2,277 under the new rules.
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The low figure was blamed on a delay in rolling out the new rules as they assessed the city's streets for potential exemptions. Glasgow officers began doling out fines in January, one year after Edinburgh.
Other councils, such as Renfrewshire, East Ayrshire, and Argyll and Bute revealed they currently aren't enforcing the new rules.
Clackmannanshire and the Western Isles council hadn't collected any money from the fines as their parking enforcement is handled by the police.
Aberdeenshire Council replied to our request saying they had collected no cash.
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A Transport Scotland spokesperson said: 'Prohibitions for pavement parking, double parking and parking at dropped kerbs were introduced by the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 and are aimed at promoting, supporting and advancing the rights of pedestrians to ensure that our pavements and roads are accessible for all.
'The last of the secondary legislation to support this came into force in December 2023, giving local authorities the tools to enforce these prohibitions by issuing Penalty Charge Notices of £100 (reducing to £50 if paid within 14 days).
"Local authorities also have powers to exempt certain areas of pavement from the national ban, should they feel it necessary and if certain criteria are met.
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'Local authorities are at various stages of readiness to enforce. Some local authorities have also been issuing warning notices ahead of actual enforcement commencing to help instil behaviour change against inconsiderate parking.'
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