Bus Lane Fine

pitkin2020

Strider590 wrote: »

No it's red tape (and political correctness) that lets serious offenders escape prosecution.......

It's easier to chase and prosecute small offences, they're instant closed cases. You do something wrong, you get fined. You break the speed limit you get fined.
Police don't like crimes that take weeks/months/years to bring to prosecution, unsolved crime makes them (and come election day, the govt) look bad.

It's like with drivers who register fake details and have no insurance, they're hard to trace, especially if they're not native British. These are crimes the Police don't want to get involved in.

The problem is not loopholes, the problem is the red tape faced by the Police.

I do agree everything has become shrouded in red tape but because of loopholes people are getting off driving offences, drink driving, speeding etc. Now I do appreciate that the law is there to protect people as well as prosecute but people are exploiting such loop holes half the time when they are knowingly in the wrong, simply because they know they can exploit a loophole and get away with it.
Disputing such tickets simply because a human has forgot to sign it or tick a box is no different to the person committing the offence it seems. It was human error or judgement that has led to the ticket being issued yet human error can also let them off scott free.

I don't blame people for disputing a ticket on a loophole, good luck to you if you can do it, i'm merely saying I don't think its right unless something really isn't right, like it isn't your car or you even driving it or there is no evidence, not simply because someone forgot to tick a box on the ticket!! People really need to take responsibility for there own actions rather than using someone else as a get of jail free card. Just my opinion and whether anyone agrees with it or not, it is merely an opinion.

Apples2

I got done in a bus lane twice too.

Been driving that road for 20 years and they changed the layout whilst I was away. Complacent 'ole me just naturally turned left out of a junction. As soon as I turned I noticed the changed layout.

Quick U turn and got back out sharpish. I didn't even drive 50yards in the bus lane.

I got done once for driving west in a bus lane, and again for driving east on a bus lane (when I turned around and was on the other side of the road).

Both offences had exactly the same time stamp, both within the same minute.
Took me less than 60 seconds to notice, turn and get back out.

I only realised as the penalties carried different reference numbers, I thought it was the same one duplicated.

I didn't challenge it and paid them both, although I was familiar with the road, I wasn't familiar with the revised layout (Reading Train Station). As has been said, not reading the road signs is no defence.

Jeff_Bridges_hair

I got caught the other week doing this. Pain in the !!!! but i wasnt paying any attention so my own fault really,.

david39

What is disconcerting about the OP's driving is that he missed the same bus lane markings on two separate occasions.

Paradigm

pitkin2020 wrote: »

but because of loopholes people are getting off driving offences, drink driving, speeding etc. Now I do appreciate that the law is there to protect people as well as prosecute but people are exploiting such loop holes half the time when they are knowingly in the wrong, simply because they know they can exploit a loophole and get away with it.

As sarahg1969 has pointed out, all councils are bound by legislation. This is freely available to them & something they must follow, whether it be yellow line markings or the wording of parking tickets, to make traffic regulations enforceable. Most don't, even though it's clearly written down & explained for them!

So the question... if the legislation hasn't been followed then the relevent regulation (law) hasn't been implemented, how can it be broken?

pitkin2020 wrote: »

Disputing such tickets simply because a human has forgot to sign it or tick a box is no different to the person committing the offence it seems. It was human error or judgement that has led to the ticket being issued yet human error can also let them off scott free.

Almost nicely summed up A council will be paying a department vast amounts of our money to make sure the traffic regulations comply with legislation but through "human error or judgement" they fail to do so in many cases!
The motorist makes a mistake through "human error or judgement" & gets a ticket.... one suffers a financial penalty the other carries on regardless, seems a bit one sided to me no matter how wrong the council get it! That'll be why we have independent adjudication, to determine if the council have done what they are legally obliged to do & if the motorist actually has a case to answer!

You keep referring to "loopholes", maybe you're right but I prefer to use the term "council incompetence"