A pensioner has won an appeal against Nottingham City Council after being fined for driving in a bus lane in the city centre. Bill Ball, 78, received a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) after driving into the lane in Canal Street last November.
The retired engineer from Nettleham in Lincolnshire travelled eastward down the road after its junction with Albion Street - something which is forbidden. However, a tribunal found that signage did not "adequately inform" Mr Ball about the bus lane, meaning he did not have to pay the £35 fine.
The verdict following a hearing on March 15 said one of the three entry signs to the bus gate was not in place at the time. The city council said the sign had been damaged in a road accident and had deemed two signs to be sufficient.
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Mr Ball said it was a "complete fluke" that he made the discovery which eventually led him to appeal. "I'd never driven in the city before and I just didn't notice this bus lane," he said.
"The camera that took a photo of me in the bus lane also took a picture of the signs. As a stranger I wasn't to know a sign would normally be in the middle, but I went on Google street view and there were three signs.
"It was a complete fluke that I noticed it. People like me, we hardly ever come across bus lanes at all."
City council data shows a total of 38 PCNs were issued for the identical offence on November 14, the same day as Mr Ball. A council spokesperson said the outcome of Mr Ball's appeal would not alter other cases where people have accepted a fine.
Mr Ball said: "Most people that were also done probably won't know that. Anyone in their right mind will pay the £35 and get on with their life," he said. "If you refuse to begin with it's doubled, and then you have to go through the appeal process. To some people £35 is quite a lot."
A Nottingham City Council spokesperson said: “At the time this fine was issued, a central bus gate sign had been damaged in a road accident. However, two signs remained in place on either side of the road which we deemed sufficient for ongoing enforcement.
“The signs we use are DfT approved and since the new road layout was introduced we have provided further signage and road markings to make the arrangements, including the bus gate, as clear as possible to motorists. We know that the vast majority of motorists are following the signs and road layout without entering the bus gate and incurring fines.
“Appeals are dealt with on their individual merit so under the rules of the national tribunal, the outcome of this appeal will not alter those cases where people have accepted a fine on Canal Street.”
The council also pointed out that there are other advanced warning signs that are on the approach to Canal Street.
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