You have of course the right to appeal...

All the publicity around at the moment about the new parking penalty regulations has highlighted two matters which I feel should be of considerable concern. The first is that around 60% of appeals against parking tickets are successful. The second is the statement by the chief adjudicator of the Parking Penalty Tribunal that the new regulations are designed to make drivers more aware of their right to challenge "unfair" penalties. So here we have an official recognition of the fact that the system produces, and will continue to produce tickets which are given out unfairly, and the statistics suggest that these unfair tickets may represent a significant proportion of those issued. Which raises the question - what sort of a Mickey Mouse system is this? Surely it is the system that needs looking at, rather than the provision of a better appeals procedure? The proliferation of fixed penalty notices - be it parking tickets or whatever - has effectively turned the burden of proof on its head. It is now up to you to prove your innocence - if indeed you can. What sort of system is that?