"Dear motorist” talking parking tickets may be on the way

"Hey buddy, please move your van or get a ticket", that comment could soon be coming to a street near you in the form of the worlds first talking parking ticket. As reported recently in the Daily Telegraph, developed by a British company, it gives a motorist a friendly warning rather than imposing an instant fine. Company, FlashPark, has come up with an alternative to the dreaded slap-on-the-windscreen standard paper issue, a ticket with an embedded 30 second audio warning message.

Surprisingly, the latest figures from the DVLA in Swansea indicate private enforcement companies rake in around £150 million from parking fines each year. And it's not only local councils that benefit from these parking fines, but did you know that private landowners can also issue what's called "parking charge notices"?

The talking tickets could have polite recorded messages asking driver's to please move or they could take a more stern approach and threatening tone, announcing that your details will be passed on to the DVLA if you refuse to heed the warning. I was glad to read that future versions of the talking ticket would provide the ability for driver's to record a response to whoever issued the ticket. Now, this could get ugly fast if the respondent chose to tell the ticket issuer exactly what they thought of the warning, but it can also help to quickly clear up any misunderstandings or special cases.

Not all will find it useful or indeed necessary to have another motor related device pestering us or telling us what to do, as we already have to put up with sat nav’s barking directions at us and telematics /black boxes recording our every move. Quoted in the Telegraph article, the AA also voiced doubts about the initiative. "We hope the electrics do not interfere with car electronics like remote locking systems otherwise those that place these devices on cars may find they get more than they bargained for instead of just a cheque from FlashPark from the proceeds of the parking ticket."

What do you think about the talking ticket idea, is it a good idea or just a waste of space?