Dublin’s drivers will not miss the regular sight of clamping vans on the city centre streets . Something in the region of 125 drivers have their vehicles clamped each day and incur a release fee of €124.
Q-Park, the private company that operates the system, will be replaced at the start of November by another private sector operator, Apoca, which will instead mainly use a combination of towing, fines and foot patrols. Clamping will still be used, just less frequently in the city centre, but potentially more often in the suburbs.
Clamping is a particularly invidious if effective method of enforcing parking laws. Studies have shown that the quasi-hostage situation that follows clamping is more effective at influencing driver behaviour than fines.
Clamping was introduced in Dublin almost 30 years ago and replaced traffic wardens who had become increasingly ineffective as the number of cars on the streets multiplied and parking became scarcer. With it came a relentless barrage of complaints and it has been a recurring topic at Dublin City Council meetings.
Many large cities have switched back to fines as new surveillance technologies make the chances of being caught breaking the parking rules high. A fundamental driver of compliance is the likelihood that you will be caught.
Dublin City Council does not use CCTV or number plate recognition for parking enforcement. Their use is permissible under legislation but would most likely be challenged by groups, such as the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, that have raised concerns in this area.
The decision by the council to move towards more fines under these circumstances may prove premature and will no doubt fuel suspicion that there is a wider plan to increase the use of surveillance technology.
The council has promised a new, graduated approach to different zones of the city. Clamping will remain a feature but so will towing away and fines . For Dublin’s motorists it may be a question of being careful what you wish for .