Bus Lane PCN for Kilburn High Road, London (Northbound). - Enforcable?

[ConcreteFloater]

Hello all!

 

I recently received a Bus Lane PCN for Kilburn High Road, London (Northbound). There is CCTV footage of me driving along the lane. It was at 11:41 on a Saturday. My understanding was that the lane was not 'active' except on Mon-Fri. I have since checked and in fact the lane is active 10am-7pm on Sat.

 

I am considering my options for appeal.

 

My main consideration is that the Bus Lane is not enforceable as it is not correctly signposted/marked. I would be very grateful to any thoughts. I will attempt to describe my thoughts.

 

The section I was caught in is a 'continuation' of an earlier bus lane, after a junction with traffic lights. Immediately after the junction is a diagram 959 sign (correctly stating the hours). approximately 7m after that starts a 'lead in taper' which finishes after about 6m, exceeding 1:10. There is no 'bear right' arrow by the taper. The solid white line defining the bus lane then begins about 14m after diagram 959. The 'BUS LANE' diagram 1048 is approximately 5m after the start of the solid white line. There are no other diagram 959 signs.

 

Thoughts on this section of bus lane alone:

 

Should diagram 1048 AND diagram 959 be used in parallel with the start of the bus lane's thick white line. They are approximately 20m apart?

 

The diagram 1048 is fairly worn; the 'L' of LANE is almost gone completely. The 'B' is 2/3 missing. The road surface is deformed as a result of the bus' weight. Is this an argument?

 

As far as that section is in context, it seems to me that the whole of that bus lane is not 'started' correctly as there is no diagram 958 with the hours on, ONLY diagrams 959.

 

There are a lot of 'sections' of bus lane on this road.

 

Section 1 (Mon-Fri, 7am-10am, 4pm-6pm) - Correctly signed and marked. No issues that I can tell.

 

No 'End of Bus Lane' Sign.

 

Left turn off road.

 

Section 2 (No hours therefore 'At ant time' though does not have 'at any time' sign) - It just starts. No 'lead in' broken lines.

 

Then there is an 'End of Bus Lane' sign.

 

Set of traffic lights.

 

[This is the start of the bus lane that I was in]

 

After a set of traffic lights:

 

No diagram 958 (bus lane ahead) sign.

 

Very short (about 6m, exceeds 1:10) lead-in taper, with bear-right arrow. Diagram 959 and 1048 in correct position. Diagram 959 shows the hours as now including 'Sat 10am-7pm'.

 

Break in bus lane. Left turn junction. Diagram 959. Zig-zags of pedestrian crossing. After crossing only 3m of zig-zags then replaced by thick straight bus lane line. Traffic lights.

 

After the traffic lights is the section I was seen in.

 

Me question here is:

 

If the start of the bus lane that shows the restriction of including Sat 10am-7pm is missing diagram 958 and the lead-in exceeds 1:10, are the following 'sections' enforceable even if they each have a diagram 959?

 

Can I argue that the whole section of road leading up to where I was seen has differing restrictions and is not correctly signed causing confusion?

 

Sorry to go on and on but (if you can make sense of this) I'd be very grateful for any thoughts, experiences and advice.

 

Thank you very much!

 

CF

[sgtbush]

google pictures would be helpful,

 

but from a quick read thru, i would appeal on the grounds you have stated

[ConcreteFloater]

google pictures would be helpful,

 

but from a quick read thru, i would appeal on the grounds you have stated

 

Hi sgtbush. I'm just working on some google pics now! Thanks.

[sailor sam]

You may find this helpful;

 

http://www.ticketfighter.co.uk/bus.htm

 

Please Note

 

The advice I offer will be based on the information given by the person needing it. All my advice is based on my experiences and knowledge gained in working in the motor and passenger transport industries in various capacities. Although my advice will always be sincere, it should be used as guidence only.

 

I would always urge to seek face to face professional advice for clarification prior to taking any action.

 

Please click my reputation 'star' button at the bottom of my profile window on the left if you found my advice useful.

[ConcreteFloater]

Hello.

 

As promised, here is an image of the road layout and observations I have made:

 

Layout and Details

...and a photo of the deteriorated quality of diagram 1048 ("Bus Lane"):

 

Diagram 1048

 

A photo speaks a thousand words!!!

 

Has anyone successfully contested a PCN on any of these issues?

 

Thanks again for your time and thoughts.

 

CF

[ConcreteFloater]

This may also be useful; here is a link to the start of the section that the CCTV saw me in:

 

http://goo.gl/maps/ZUABE

 

If it's relevant, the link to the first section with the change of hours to include Saturday:

 

http://goo.gl/maps/77jzd

 

Unfortunately, as you'll see, the lane in question is mostly hidden from Google by traffic but I'm sure it will reveal enough info.

 

CF

[sailor sam]

Although I would agree that the markings are a tad faded, it all looks compliant to me. Did you check the link I provided in post #4?

 

Please Note

 

The advice I offer will be based on the information given by the person needing it. All my advice is based on my experiences and knowledge gained in working in the motor and passenger transport industries in various capacities. Although my advice will always be sincere, it should be used as guidence only.

 

I would always urge to seek face to face professional advice for clarification prior to taking any action.

 

Please click my reputation 'star' button at the bottom of my profile window on the left if you found my advice useful.

[ConcreteFloater]

Although I would agree that the markings are a tad faded, it all looks compliant to me. Did you check the link I provided in post #4?

 

Yes, thanks for that.

 

In section '3. Roadmarkings' is says "The words ‘Bus Lane’ should be written at the start of the lane and at at regular intervals (approximately every 300m) and/or at the commencement of every side road". In this case although sign 959 is after the junction as required, the words 'Bus Lane' are 18m further after sign 959. When they should be 'used in conjunction' with each other how is that defined?

 

A key factor seems to be the absence of sign 958 prior to the beginning of the whole bus lane. Would this make the whole of the lane non-compliant?

 

Thanks for your help.

 

CF

[sailor sam]

Actually it would appear from your Google link that there is no sign 958 (advanced warning) at the start of the bus lane. So yes, there could be an avenue of appeal there. Having said that, I think it would depend on how far down the bus lane you drove before moving out of it to weather the adjudicator would think that you were not aware of the start of the bus lane.

 

Please Note

 

The advice I offer will be based on the information given by the person needing it. All my advice is based on my experiences and knowledge gained in working in the motor and passenger transport industries in various capacities. Although my advice will always be sincere, it should be used as guidence only.

 

I would always urge to seek face to face professional advice for clarification prior to taking any action.

 

Please click my reputation 'star' button at the bottom of my profile window on the left if you found my advice useful.