A OAP has successfully won an appeal against his fine for driving in a bus lane after discovering a road sign on Google Maps that had since been removed. Bill Ball, 78, was hit with a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) by Nottingham City Council after the incident in November last year, the Mirror reports.
The retired engineer's case went to a tribunal which found signage in the area did not 'adequately inform' the driver about the bus lane and his £35 was overturned as a result. The hearing on March 15 was told one of the three entry signs to the bus gate on the city's Canal Street was not in place at the time.
The council said the sign had been damaged in a road accident and had deemed two signs to be sufficient notice for drivers. Mr Ball, from Nettleham in Lincolnshire, said it was a 'complete fluke' that he made the discovery on Google Street view which showed him the missing sign had been taken down and allowed him to win his appeal.
He said: "I'd never driven in the city before and I just didn't notice this bus lane. 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 same offence on the same day as Mr Ball on November 14. 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.
"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 there are other advanced warning signs on the approach to Canal Street.
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