Bristol Airport - PCN for stopping at a traffic light.

Imnotpaying

OK, @Fruitcake, thanks again. I'm sure I'll find a contact email for OTTP somewhere.  I thought I had covered those points in my draft.  I'll check for completeness.  Many thanks.

Imnotpaying

I've had a reply from BRS to my complaint:

Dear 

Thank you for contacting Bristol Airport.  

Could you please provide a copy of the Charge Notice issued to you by VCS in order to investigate this further. 

Kind Regards, 

Has anyone else had this request? Should I send a copy? 

Coupon-mad

Yes.       

Imnotpaying

There is awn article in today's Guardian about an almost exactly similar situation to mine.  Not sure whether there's a more useful place to post it on this forum:

https://www.theguardian.com/money/article/2024/aug/10/airport-parking-charge-passengers?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Coupon-mad

It's the case posted about by @Drivad

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6529577/charge-notice-for-stopping-at-red-light-bristol-airport/p2

ParkingMad

Imnotpaying said:

OK, @Fruitcake, thanks again. I'm sure I'll find a contact email for OTTP somewhere. 

There are a few email addresses for OTPP here:

https://www.otpp.com/en-ca/contact-us/

Details for their London offices:

ParkingMad

Last week three airports (Liverpool, Birmingham and Bristol) obtained an injunction against Just Stop Oil protesters.

https://www.bristolairport.co.uk/media/w0sjnbmu/bhx-hearing-bundle-final-version-compressed-_1.pdf

Byelaws are mentioned on page 57 (para 56):

56. The airports in the present case are all the subject of byelaws.

The 2012 Bristol Airport byelaws are included as an exhibit on page 166.

Are VCS still claiming that the byelaws at Bristol Airport are obsolete?

Imnotpaying

I've been studying the IPC Code of Practice ver 9 (01/01/2024 (COP) - the current version with which Operators must comply) and thinking about other differences between stopping and parking.  What do my helpful friends think about the following argument? Is it naive?

The difference between parking and stopping is that, for the former, there is a fixed moment in time when the driver accepts the terms and conditions offered by the act of parking and leaving the vehicle.  A driver who reads a notice “no stopping....” needs time to consider the terms and conditions stated on it and decide whether to leave the land or accept the terms of the contract whilst moving in traffic.  Unlike a driver who parks, he takes no identifiable action at any specific point in time that demonstrates his acceptance of the terms offered.  There is, therefore, no means by which an operator can show, on the balance of probabilities, that any contravention has taken place.

The current version 9 of the COP has the intent of including stopping within its scope yet there is little reference to it in the requirements for Operators, which specifically relate only to parking.  Since the IPC makes reference to stopping, in the absence of specific requirements to the contrary, it is reasonable for a driver to assume, when considering the terms and conditions offered by an Accredited Operator, that the consideration period, as required by Schedule 7, would apply to stopping as well as parking. The “consideration period” shown in Table B.1 of Schedule 7 ranges from 10 to 5 minutes, so this would be a reasonable period. A driver who stops his vehicle within this period should be assumed to be still within the consideration period in the COP and has not therefore accepted the terms of any contract.  

Alternatively, a driver who wishes to decline the offered terms would have to stop on the access road in order to turn around and exit, thus creating an impossibly dangerous situation, contrary to Byelaws, and where a charge notice could be issued for stopping. This and other aspects of the code illustrate that the COP does not properly consider aspects of vehicle control related to stopping.

Coupon-mad

Hmmm...the consideration period for a 'no stopping' red route roadway is considered to happen whilst you are driving past repeater 'no stopping' signs.  Not when stopped.

Imnotpaying

@Coupon-mad. Yes, I think the second point is a bit tenuous, possibly, but what about the first one.  If you were VCS how would you demonstrate that a driver had accepted the terms and conditions offered in relation to stopping?