Parking ticket because all the signage looks the same!

[dyfusion]

Help Please advice?

 

I got a parking ticket yesterday in Islington For parked in a permit space without displaying a valid permit. The thing is where i parked is controlled parking mainly residential parking and i have a residential parking permit for that particular Zone. Before i parked i checked to ensure that i had parked in the correct place as some of the road is pay and display only. I looked at the sign nearest to me which had the correnct zone, i also looked over the road at the signage and it also had the same sign indicating the correct zone. :D

 

When i returned to my car i had a parking ticket. I was suprised and thought it was an oversight and wote to the council explaining such, i took photographs of my permit as proof to show i did have a valid permit. After i e-mailed it still bothered me so to ensure i Googled street view to see if i did do any thing wrong. All the signs looked the same and "appeared" to be residential parking and agreed that it might have been a mistake.

 

Toady i parked in the same place and again i looked at all the surrounding signage and once again residential parking and had the stated zone. I returned to my car and found another ticket, this time i was with a friend and was completly perplexed, so we walked up and down the road insepecting all of the signs and they all looked the same and said the same thing.

 

Now just to make sure i was not mad we walked up to each sign again and read out loud each sign twice each taking turns. now only after 10 mins did we realise that the bay that i had parked in was business Permits and not residential. now there is no way you could differentiate between them appart from that one word.

 

All the signs look exactly the same No different colour etc. I have got 2 parking tickets costing £120 each is there anything i can do to get these tickest written off it is and was is a genuine mistake?

 

Help!!!!!

[MARTIN3030]

Thread moved here.

I notice you have another thread of a similar nature from February-is this one connected to that one ?

[green_and_mean]

only after 10 mins did we realise that the bay that i had parked in was business Permits and not residential. now there is no way you could differentiate between them appart from that one word.

 

'Business permit holders only' is not really ambiguous is it, how else could it be signed to indicate only those with a business permit? 'BUSINESS PERMITS ONLY AND NOT ANY OTHER TYPES OF PERMIT ESPECIALLY CONFUSED RESIDENTS' maybe? On a serious note post up photos of the PCN, bay markings and the confusing sign and we may spot a way out.

[Jamberson]

I would have to agree with G&M. I don't see you can spend 10 minutes reading out "Business Permits Only" to each other and still not understand what happened, especially if you did it twice!

 

It's fair enough to say you made a mistake on the first day, and you could appeal on that basis alone if you wanted. But it's not much of a case if you were to argue that the wording of the signs were unclear, unless there's more to it than your post implies. A photo of the sign would be useful.

[lamma]

Is "Business Permits Only" a prescribed variant ?

[green_and_mean]

Is "Business Permits Only" a prescribed variant ?

 

Yes

[lamma]

I suppose that depends on the sign it is printed on. we need a picture of the sign on the street.

[Michael Browne]

Is "Business Permits Only" a prescribed variant ?

http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2002/02311354.gif

[lamma]

plus others. but thats the TSRGD, what is on the street ?

[JimmySpangle]

Should have gone to specsavers?

[lamma]

we can decide that after we see photos of the sign

[dyfusion]

Hi the pics are from Google street view.

 

Please note all the signs in my area look like these.

 

Pic 1. is the bay in question Business Permit

 

Pic 2. is the sign directly on the other side of the road.

 

Pic 3. Is the sign ajcent from the business permit sign.

 

Pic 4. is the view of the road.

 

Please note i have entered the road from the oppersite direction form the view of the pics. (i.e. pic 3. you would see the front of the car facing you)

 

Part one part 2 to follow

Leigh Road N5 pics.doc

[dyfusion]

Hi the pics are from Google street view. Leigh road N5

 

Pic 3. Is the sign ajcent from the business permit sign.

 

Pic 4. is the view of the road.

 

Please note i have entered the road from the oppersite direction form the view of the pics. (i.e. pic 3. you would see the front of the car facing you)

 

Part 2

Liigh road N5 pic 2.doc

Pic 4.doc

[Jamberson]

Looks like:

 

Mon - Fri

 

10am - 2pm

 

Resident Permit Holders Only

 

There are two distinct bays on that stretch of road, clearly separated from one another. Where this one says "Resident Permit Holders", the other says "Business Permit Holders", but they are otherwise the same.

 

I can now see where you got confused - you read the nearest sign, and the other sign, which applied to the bay you used but was further away, appeared identical at a glance. Only on re-reading the phrase did you recognise the subtle difference.

 

What can you do? You can only appeal for benefit of doubt, if you were definitely parked in the business permit section. I gather that's what you've done already? I guess the next thing is to wait and see what they say.

[dyfusion]

Yes you right, you see one should not be getting parking tickets in their zone, especially when you have paid for a valid permit. As you saw all both signage is exactly the same and throughout the zone area. I did not even know they allocated business permits in the middle of a residential street. And apparently they are actually dual use i asume that business permit holders can park there during the time 10-2pm then the usual confusion regarding the match day and bank holidays.

 

From where i approached the road there was a van parked obstructing the signage in question, when i parked and looked over the road i saw the residential sign and as i walked away i saw the other residential sign on the other side of the road.

 

I think i migh be able to get one ticket waviered....time can only tell....