No matter rich or poor, there is a possibility that you may at some point receive a parking fine, regardless of your income. Recently, a suggestion has been made to change the law in order to force the rich to pay a higher parking fine than the less wealthy, a measure that would affect many people. However, is this a good idea simply because they can afford to pay the fine?
In some senses, this suggestion to base monetary fines on the income of the offender is a good idea. For example, if the fine was £100, this would be petty change for a millionaire, but a lot of money for someone living below the poverty line, and so therefore it would be better if the fine reflected income. In Sweden, speeding fines are based on the driver’s income, which has meant that in some cases, drivers are forced to pay vast sums of money for their actions, such as in 2010 when a driver was fined over £500,000 for speeding at 180mph. I think we can presume that they will think twice before speeding again!
It is also important to think of the consequences for the fine, as for a wealthy person, it is not likely to affect them at all, whereas someone of lower income may have to cut back on weekly food allowances or house payments because they can no longer afford to pay them.
At the current rate, parking fines, meant as a deterrent against offenders, may deter only those who could not afford to make the same mistake twice, but not discourage those who could repeatedly park in dangerous places and simply pay the fine multiple times. In this way, this could lead to rich, dangerous drivers who repeatedly break the law because they are able to pay their way out of it. Therefore, if parking fines were higher for the wealthy, so much so it seems like much money for them, they may be put into the mindset that illegal parking will cause them to lose money, and so refrain from doing so.
However, if this new way of fining was put into place, where would the line be drawn? A set fine could not be created separately for just the “rich” and the “poor”, as many people have different annual incomes, so for one person in the “rich” band, it may constitute a lot of money, but not much for someone else with a much higher income. In this way, each person would have to pay a different fine based on their personal income, which many may feel unjust that they have to pay more for committing the exact same crime as someone else.
The fines are put into place in the first place because they are meant to represent the severity of the crime, not the income of the offender. Different people would be committing the same crime as others, so why should they be forced to pay more or less? With a set fine, they are still being forced to pay for their actions, no matter what the price. If people knew they would have to pay for the crime, this may be just as much a deterrent as the price that would be paid.
Also, if the price of parking fines was changed to accommodate income, would all fines and taxes not have to follow suit in order to make it fair? This would result in some people paying vast sums of money a year, whereas others would pay only a fraction. Through this, a barrier between high income and low income earner could be created, as many would find this unreasonable.
Therefore, should parking fines based on income be introduced in areas such as Woodford? My own view is that parking fines should not reflect income, as in the interest of equality for all, fines should reflect the severity of the offenders’ crime, and not their bank balance.
