UK drivers could see major parking changes as 'five-minute' rule to be addressed

Drivers in the UK could soon see changes to parking rules in private car parks after industry bodies pledged a review.

Private parking companies have said they will update their code of conduct after legal action was launched against a driver who took more than five minutes to pay for using a car park after entering it.

Two industry bodies - British Parking Association (BPA) and the International Parking Community (IPC) - have announced the establishment of a new panel that will revise the code to ensure it "protects genuine motorists who have difficulty making prompt payment on entry". The two organisations said the panel will also "fast-track updates to the code to reflect technological advancements".

In November last year, the BBC reported on the case of a driver who has been taken to court by a private parking company for £1,906. Rosey Hudson was fined after repeatedly taking more than five minutes to pay after entering a car park in Derby because of poor mobile phone signal.

Private parking businesses have been accused of using misleading and confusing signs, aggressive debt collection and unreasonable fees.

In November, new figures suggested that drivers in the UK are being hit by an average of more than 41,000 parking tickets a day by private companies. Some 3.8 million tickets were handed out between July and September 2024, according to analysis of government data by the PA news agency and motoring research charity the RAC Foundation.

Each ticket can be up to £100, meaning the total cost to drivers may be near £4.1 million per day.

In March 2019, a bill that would bring in a government-backed code of practice for private parking companies received royal assent. However, it was withdrawn in June 2022 after a