A 'Robometer' alerts police and sends a text message to the driver

The revolutionary “smart meters” – already dubbed Robometers – are being rolled out across France and are expected to reach Britain next. The system allows authorities to detect the presence of vehicles parked in restricted areas. Police are then alerted and fines issued, with a computer sending a text message to the driver to inform them. While the system could herald the end of parking wardens in the UK, the number of people fined would inevitably rise – and motoring groups last night said it was a step too far. Captain Gatso, the anonymous anti-speed camera campaigner, said the system was just another way of taxing drivers and raising cash for local authorities. “It is another case where cash is king and the motorist is seen as easy meat. It is all so extreme and is yet another reason for motorists not to register their cars,” he added.

About 60 councils in France have already installed the new system and it is believed authorities in the UK will also invest in it as a way to keep down the cost of parking enforcement. Claude Zandona, managing director of Technolia, which developed the system, said: “We are revolutionising parking with the individual monitoring of spaces.” The new meters create magnetic fields capable of registering the metal mass of vehicles. The smart meter then sends a message to a police control room when a car overstays, which alerts officers through their mobile phones 15 minutes later.

“That way police and wardens don’t have to spend the day walking up and down the road,” said Mr Zandona, who said he wanted to introduce the technology to Britain. “The police can go and sit in a cafe if they like and just pop out when they get a message to say a car is parked illegally. They have an 80 per cent chance of finding the car still there between 12 and 18 minutes after the limit, we have found. That’s why we warn them after 15 minutes.” Technolia now wants to introduce an updated version in Britain, which will see drivers paying for parking with a PIN number incorporated into their mobile phones.

Schemes involving text messaging have already been introduced in parts of London but have been criticised by motorists who say they are complicated and leave them unable to talk to a human when there is a problem. But Mr Zandona defended the new system, saying fines could be sent directly to drivers’ homes, reducing or even ending the need for wardens. Variations of the meter include one for disabled motorists, who are given a magnetic badge allowing them to park in designated spaces. When a driver without a badge parks in a disabled bay, the meter alerts police.