Within months, Scottish motorists could face the ParkingEye, a camera system that notifies meter maids electronically the second a vehicle is eligible for a ticket. With the automated system, parking authorities expect to cut the number of meter maids in half while issuing even more tickets than ever. In the UK, parking tickets represent £1 billion (US $1.9 billion) in annual revenue.

The ParkingEye system can also direct meter maids to issue multiple tickets to a car if it overstays the limit after already having received a ticket.

"It's exactly the same as stealing sweets from a sweet shop. If you walk out with a Mars Bar and don't pay for it, it's stealing. If you park in a space and don't pay for it, you're stealing," [said Andrew McKerney, managing director of ParkingEye.]