Motorists in Christchurch caught with an expired vehicle warrant or registration will now receive a friendly reminder rather than a $200 fine.
The Christchurch City Council initiative is designed to encourage motorists to fix the problem, rather than penalising them for a first offence.
The council's parking manager Andrea Jopling said the fine would only be waived if a warrant or registration was fewer than 15 days overdue.
"If there is a car that looks decidedly unsafe they wouldn't be getting a friendly reminder, what we're hoping to achieve is that a lot of people they don't notice that their warrant of fitness or their registration is expired and we are just a reminder that they need to get this sorted."
And she said a fine would follow if the vehicle was ticketed twice.
Ms Jopling said any unsafe vehicles would still receive a ticket.
