If you think this post isn’t for you because you always drive carefully and feed the meter – take caution, speeding fines and parking tickets have a tendancy of popping up when you least expect it.

Rushing around, tiredness or stress can all cause distraction and it’s when you’re most stressed that you may well have an added stress of getting caught speeding. Of course there are static cameras which we can all see and avoid, but what about those vans hiding round the corner? You could be snapped by one of them and be wondering have I been caught speeding and have to wait until the penalty notice arrives to find out! Well make sure you pay that fine on time to avoid any further charges, and before you pay it spend a little time seeing if there is a way to reduce the fine such as taking a speed awareness test or appealing to the DVLA.

Parking tickets are usually issued when you haven’t fed the meter enough, or have parked somewhere you shouldn’t like a double yellow line or a permit bay. It’s an easy mistake to make and 90% of the population must be guilty of using their hazard lights to excuse themselves for stopping somewhere they should “just for a minute” during rush hour. Parking penalty charges can often be halved if they are paid early, i.e withing 7 – 14 days for most local authorities. If a parking fine hasn’t been issued by the local authority don’t pay it. There are plenty of clamping charlatans about trying to scare people into paying fines that aren’t official. It you have a parking fine from the DVLA, police or the council you can always call them to check to make sure it is a bonafide charge before parting with your hard earned cash. Of course don’t be late, or you could get charged even more!