Dublin City Council’s contacting drivers who were illegally clamped in the first seven months of this year.
They were immobilised even though there wasn’t the correct road markings. The city council’s admitted 26 cars were illegally clamped between Longford Street and Noel Purcell Walk between January and July.
Signage and street markings had been removed to put in an additional traffic lane as part of Operation freeflow. But even though they hadn’t been re-erected, Dublin Street Parking Services clamped the cars anyway.
The local authority says it’s in the process of contacting the drivers affected to refund them the full fine. It’s also told clampers not to immobilise cars where road markings or street signs aren’t clearly legible.
It costs €80 to remove a clamp from the wheel of vehicle and is a criminal offence to remove or tamper with a clamp. A number of successful prosecutions have been carried out by An Garda Síochána in dealing with motorists caught tampering with clamps on their cars. One such fine resulted in a payment of €1,250.
It added that a number of prosecutions for criminal damage were ongoing and that all incidences of “unauthorised removal of a clamp” would be vigorously pursued by the council.
