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Grumble moan, I got towed from outside my new flat yesterday, been in it 2 days.
I was parked in a single yellow 8am - 6pm Mon -Fri exclusion. I know I was but suppose everyone takes risks.
But I have 2 issues with it.
1, I was ticketed at 8.05am, residential city street in Bristol. Not the kind of area you ever see wardens. The tow lorry turned up 5 - 10 mintues later, I charged out of flat at 8.20 but it was too late. I am right in that wardens are not in touch with tow lorry or at least shouldnt be, thus allowing you a reasonable time to shift the car after the ticket but before expense of towing. I now know I was the unwitting victim of a street cleaning operation, as 20 minutes later a bunch of council workmen turned up to, guess what, re do all the lines in the street. Is this fair.
2, Having studied the scene a bit better, the parking moves from unrestricted to double yellow (covering a housing development entrance) to single restricted in a matter of 10 - 15 yards, the only sign points out the double yellow. The first sign noting the single restriction is a further 20 yards down the road. This also taken with the fact that the lines were very old and in parts pretty much non eixstent. Would it be reasonable to say i was justifiably unaware i was in restricted area and that given the lack of adequate signs and lines that the restriction was not valid. In my experience shouldnt restrictions be marked at either end and at strategic points throughout, after all a yellow line means nothing without the sign to tell you the times etc of the restriction.
I managed to get some pics of guys redoing lines and lines before work, I will be appealling first to council but I understand there is an independant body also.
Anyway any advice to whether I have a reasonable chance and point of law regarding proper signage.
Was your car clamped before it was towed ? you have 15mins grace from when you recieve your parking ticket. they can then clamp and then remove after a certain time. Had the car been lifted completely off the ground and was it in mid flight or had it actually touched down on the tow truck ? As if you get there before the car touches the truck. They have to legally let it go. You still have to pay the pcn but not the tow charge etc. watch how you start to get replies all of a sudden when i reply to this post. lol
Every time the parking restrictions change the yellow line/s must stop and have a T bar. This includes parking bays, changes in parking restrictions etc etc. The lines must also be continious between the T bars. I will post you a link to the actual regulations tomorrow.
If they are worn or gone then they are unenforcable.
Bristol CC doesnt clamp at all. They ticket and tow only.
The car was placed on the towing section not lifted, the front wheels were up by the time I realised. I believe BCC policy is that once the lifting gear is one the car its tough ****, this may not of course be legal but i guess they rely on the fact mst people wont challenge it.
Had you climbed into your car and locked yourself in, they could not have towed it.
However, as they were scheduled to repaint the lines, they would have issued
notices to residents beforehand that the road should be clear. Apart from yours,
were there any other cars parked in the street where the work was ging on and
were they towed?
As for cliimbing in, I will know in future. Though seems a little bit of an extreme measure. I dont expect this to happen again.
As I had literally moved in the day before if there were notices then I did not receive one, as as the section they were repainting was a 8am -6pm restriction, then there shouldnt have been anyone parking there, so I would guess notices were not required.
I dont know if anyone else was towed, I was too busy getting ready for work and cursing a lot to notice.
Loading is not prohibted but what are the rules on loading, can you park on a single yellow if you are loading.
If I was loading then it would have been unloading, is this the same. The car was full of personal effects yet to be moved into the flat.
I havent got round to challenging it yet. I will, but right now its finding the time.
It is now having lived there for a week very apparent it was a sting operation due to line painting, the majority of the street is either 1 hour parking, single yellow or double yellow. And no one gives a stuff, day or night cars all over the place. My neighbour has had his car in a 1 hour bay for at least 3 days.
Loading is not prohibted but what are the rules on loading, can you park on a single yellow if you are loading.
If I was loading then it would have been unloading, is this the same. The car was full of personal effects yet to be moved into the flat.
From the text of your reply, it sounds to me as if you were not loading.
For future ref: loading and unloading are treated as the same thing.
Loading restrictions are distinct from waiting and parking restrictions. If there is no prohibition on loading, it is permitted. (There should be a sign indicating any loading restrictions; and there are usually yellow lines on the kerb, though their absence does not invalidate the sign.) Often, the restrictions will set a time limit such as 20 minutes.
For loading to be permissible in a no-waiting area, the use of the vehicle must be necessary, and the bulk of items must be such that it is not reasonable to carry them.
Be aware that many officials seem unaware of the law relating to loading, and believe it does not apply to private cars.
This site may be helpful. See the section "Guidelines for loading and unloading:"
I may be wrong but I thought the reason your car was removed was because
the Council were repainting the yellow lines. Normally when that happens,
the locals get a letter from the Council asking that all cars are removed from the said area. In addition, they usually put extra notices on lampposts for
example.
Now that you have been there a bit longer, do wardens come round at 8am,
or was it a one off because of the relining. Ask the neighbours if they knew
to move their cars. You may have a plea for mitigation at least if, by reason
of being a newcomer you missed the delivered notices.
On the other hand you were well late in any event, still being parked at 8.20.
I believe there is supposed to be at least 15 minutes between the time of
ticketing and the time of removal so you may have a claim there.
Did you see the lorry take your car away? If you did, were you outside when it happened as up to a certain time in the removal, if the owner returns, the car must not then be towed.
PS Do not in this instance claim you were loading. Making a false
statement is way more serious than being illegally parked.
This is a total warden free zone, as the line painting was for the restricted areas in theory no notices would be necessary as no one should have been parked on them after 8am. It was purely an exercise in making sure the road was clear before the workmen turned up. This in itself calls the motive into question.
But I am planning to challenge the validity of the restriction due to condition of the lining and dubious positioning of the signs. Perversely the reason i got towed, doing the line might be the exact reason why i get the money back.
Couple of letters wont hurt, if it gets nowhere I will live, its not a huge amount of money.
Towed but do i have case for appeal
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Originally Posted by Petmidget
