The Department of Infrastructure is announcing increases in Fixed Penalty Fines for parking and other matters which will come into effect on 1st August 2012.  
 
The Road Traffic Regulation (Fixed Penalty) Order 2012 prescribes three bands of penalties:-
 
1.    The fixed penalty for the more serious offences involving obligatory endorsement which will be increased from £80 to £120.    These include offences such as:

•         Parking on the zig-zags at a pedestrian crossing
•         Exceeding the speed limit
•         Leaving a vehicle in dangerous position
•         A breach of provisional licence conditions
 
2.    A new fixed penalty of £120 has been prescribed for the unlawful use of disabled persons' off-street or on-street parking spaces and is designed to act as an increased deterrent compared to the current fine of £40 given the particularly inappropriate nature of this offence.

3.    The fixed penalty for non-endorsable offences, such as on-street parking offences will increase from £40 to £60.   The penalty of £40 was last prescribed in 2002 and the increase of 50% is broadly in line with inflation from then to the present day and is simply designed to restore the amount of the penalty in real terms to what it was in 2002.
 
All fixed penalty fines that are not paid within 42 days automatically increase by 50% thereafter as at present. The increased rates for fixed penalties have been approved to encourage more compliance with road traffic regulations.   Minister of the Department of Infrastructure, David Cretney MHK said ‘I am particularly concerned about the level of abuse of disabled parking bays, of which there were 201 fixed penalties issued in 2011, therefore I am hoping that the new fine of £120, which is double the standard fine of £60, will act as an incentive and stop the illegal use of disabled parking bays.’