Grrrr. Got a parking Ticket.. can you see why?

thanks paul, i think its worth an appeal..

if the appeal is rejected but raises awareness and prompts some remodeling of the kerb then I have done my job. I have also written to the local paper

fingers crossed ..

I feel a night time excursion to Preston a tin of white paint and a brush coming in handy :wink:

I personally think the fact that it clearly was a yellow line at some point and it has now been moved closer to the corner is grounds for appeal, as they must have thought it was worthy to be marked at one point.

Look at the law posted previously though, it clearly shows you can't park across a dropped kerb. ie, you don't need to have double yellow lines for the parking offence. It might be they had them, but 'corrected' it because of this mistake because there was some kind of loophole involving a piece of the road marked both with double yellows and having a dropped kerb. Like for example, they couldn't enforce the double yellow properly because it didn't terminate in the right place.

Just my 10p worth but always… and I mean always contest parking tickets!

Last one I argued was at the Edinburgh festival, someone had stuck a flyer over the parking times sign and hadn't removed it very well. You could still just about read the times underneath but because the sign wasn't clear as day the ticket didn't stand.

Most local councils have a limited budget for chasing these things and won't waste cash going to court if you keep contesting and appealing them.

Good luck with your appeal as when I first looked at the pics I thought it was some kind of joke! Can't believe you got a ticket for that. You'll find some traffic warden is keeping his ticket quota nicely topped up with that scam!

It's tricky,

The research shows the dropped kerb must be clearly marked, this applies to outside London.

It looks like the Double yellows have been alterd at that point.

IF the LA have removed yellow lines from that side of the road and left them on the opposite side so people can only park on one side to releive parking and traffic flow problems then the potential argument is that they have created "designated' or 'Specific Parking' which falls outside the rule of dropped kerb parking.

Tenuous at the most, but arguable.

The argument should be" if you don't want folks to park there then put a white H there and tell them its an offence. or say nothing and collect the money, you can prove this is a problem by the amount of tickets handed out in a week, if the offence was speeding out side a school and I'm sure signs would be there and flashing ones at that to tell you to slow down and abide the law. they seem to have no interest in stopping crime as they have done little to prevent repeat offences being committed.

The statement 'doesnt apply outside london' comment keeps popping up but I'm struggling to understand the legislation..

looking at paul_c' s link Traffic Management Act 2004

see section 9

(9)The prohibition in this section is enforceable as if imposed– .
(a)in Greater London, by an order under section 6 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 (c. 27), .
(b)elsewhere in England and Wales, by an order under section 1 of that Act.

I then followed this to  this link

Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984

1 Traffic regulation orders outside Greater London.E+W+S.(1)[F1The traffic authority for a road outside Greater London may make an order under this section (referred to in this Act as a "traffic regulation order") in respect of the road] where it appears to the authority making the order that it is expedient to make it– .
(a)for avoiding danger to persons or other traffic using the road or any other road or for preventing the likelihood of any such danger arising, or .
(b)for preventing damage to the road or to any building on or near the road, or .
©for facilitating the passage on the road or any other road of any class of traffic (including pedestrians), or .
(d)for preventing the use of the road by vehicular traffic of a kind which, or its use by vehicular traffic in a manner which, is unsuitable having regard to the existing character of the road or adjoining property, or .
(e)(without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (d) above) for preserving the character of the road in a case where it is specially suitable for use by persons on horseback or on foot, or .
(f)for preserving or improving the amenities of the area through which the road runs [F2or .
(g)for any of the purposes specified in paragraphs (a) to © of subsection (1) of section 87 of the Environment Act 1995 (air quality).]

:dontknow:

I can see out of the office window someone is there today (another victim)

There's tens of thousands of "orders under section 1 of the act". Basically its a traffic regulation order. In plain english, its just the admin behind how they define a road legally, and set rights of way, speed limits, parking, etc etc

Very occasionally mistakes are made in this and they forget to enact the order, or make a serious admin error on it, but its rare and I imagine not worth pursuing unless you had a lot of money (to pay lawyers) or time on your hands to sift through them all. They'll be on public record at the council somewhere and you can make an appointment to view them but don't expect any help!

(9)The prohibition in this section is enforceable as if imposed– .
(a)in Greater London, by an order under section 6 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 (c. 27), .
(b)elsewhere in England and Wales, by an order under section 1 of that Act.

my ticket states contravention 27 and i read the above statement that reference to 'contravention 27' only applies in greater london
otherwise my ticket should have said 'section 1 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 '

again  :dontknow:

….. on another subject paul_c and any other Northwest Members…  I have organised a regional meet Feb 26th Near the Trafford Center if you are interested see the regional section :-)

Can you scan in the entire ticket?

paul_c said

Can you scan in the entire ticket?

here you go (front and back)

bigger version here if needed http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7069/6886180467_4a32191887_o.jpg



Cheers
Tony

Don't worry about the contravention code being 27, I think this is an internal reference number the council are using instead of actually refering to a section of the written law - so you won't get off based on c.27 applying only in Greater London etc. It clearly says "Parked adjacent to a dropped footway".

as expected…


CHALLENGE AGAINST YOUR PENALTY CHARGE NOTICE (PCN)

Thank you for your correspondence dated 15/02/12 challenging your Penalty Charge Notice.

We have carefully considered your comments but are unable to cancel your Penalty Charge Notice for the following reason(s):

-   The PCN was issued as your vehicle was parked adjacent to a dropped kerb.
-   Lancashire County Council gained powers to enforce dropped crossings on 1st October 2011 and the restriction was advertised prior to this date in the local press and on local radio as well as on our website.  Warning notices were issued for 2 weeks from the 1 October 2011.  
-   The area does not have to be marked with signs or road markings to indicate this restriction.  Please note that the H bar marking is not needed to enforce this restriction as it is obvious that the footway has a dropped kerb.
-   Dropped kerbs are in place to assist pedestrians, wheelchair and pushchair users in crossing the carriageway.
-   Irrespective of wear, the kerb is lowered on both sides of the junction to facilitate crossing.
-   The observation period is a period of time given to observe if there is any evidence of loading/unloading taking place.  Civil Enforcement Officers work to a courtesy 5 minutes grace before commencing to issue a penalty charge notice, this is a courtesy and not compulsory.  If you can provide evidence to confirm that you were loading/unloading then we will be happy to review your circumstances regarding the issue of the PCN.  
-   It is the responsibility of the driver of the vehicle to be aware when parking, of any restrictions in the area you wish to park, to understand those restrictions and to abide by the rules being enforced.
-   We can therefore find no mitigating circumstances to cancel the charge.

You now have the following choices:
-   You can pay the discounted rate of £35.00 if payment is received by 06/03/12.  Payment will close the case and you will be unable to make a further challenge against the charge.
-   You will be required to pay the full amount of £70.00 if payment is received after this date.  Payment will close the case and you will be unable to make a further challenge against the charge.
-   You can continue to contest the charge. If payment is not received within the 28 days from the date of the Penalty Charge Notice, we will send you a Notice to Owner form. This will offer you the opportunity to pay the full charge or to submit a formal representation against the charge by completing and returning the form.
-   Should your representation be unsuccessful, you will be able to take your appeal to an independent adjudicator.

Has the local paper shown any interest?

nah no reply..  although I have emailed them again today.. and the highways agency..  

I dont mind paying the fine; if the money goes to the repair of the kerb and correct markings, but its the constant ticketing (Money Making  Scheme) that is bugging me. I am gonna hold off on paying till the last moment to see if anything comes of the emails to local paper/highways agency, but continue to petition this particular dropped kerb

another annoyance is the council have been out renewing lines recently in the area (15th/16th) and could have done something about this problem area you can see this in the pics if you look at prior ones

some more pics showing recent victims and newly painted yellow lines on corner up to dropped kerb

Well, I know what I'd do in your situation….

paul_c said

Well, I know what I'd do in your situation….

what ?

I'm not you though…..but if I were to become 'you' now, I'd pay the fine and forget about it (except to never park on a dropped kerb again). I don't think there's enough merit for the paper to run the story, although some of these local newspapers will print virtually anything to fill some pages so if you want something to do, no reason to stop you here.

I think, looking at the pics, its a dropped kerb so wouldn't have parked there. In any case, dropped kerb or not, its a bit close to the junction so I'd have not parked there anyway.

Not saying I'm the parking angel, but I've always made sure it was for 5-10 mins only if on a dodgy place, or not been caught. I've gotten away with parking in ambulance bays directly outside the main entrance of a hospital, because I'd shown the courtesy to pull up a little further and allow the ambulance the 'main' part of the spot, etc.

don't see why they yellows don't run past this problem parking spot, seems they used to.
Depending on the angle, that pavement looks pretty rubbish and not easy to spot the specific point of it being a dropped kerb for crossing.