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stamfordman
In the Times:

Motorists who illegally drive in bus lanes will avoid a fine for a first offence after councils were criticised for fleecing them on an “industrial scale”.

Chris Grayling, the transport secretary, has vowed to overhaul the bus lane enforcement system after a rise in the number of drivers issued with fines of up to £130.

The Times has learnt that fresh guidance will be issued to local authorities to make sure that bus lane penalties are more “fair and balanced”.

The Department for Transport said that measures under consideration included giving first-time offenders a warning letter rather than a fine. The “grace period” before drivers are penalised in new bus lanes will also be extended from two weeks to a month.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/cur...rists-r3kjjzjmv
cp8759
It sounds like a great idea, but they're going to have to change the regulations. If it's just guidance, councils will ignore it.
NELSON MANDELA

The AA was right once a particular bus lane generates a couple of hundred PCN's then it should be suspended pending a full investigation. The adjudication system is a joke the councils have full time lawyers and traffic engineers, the general public have no knowledge of what is required and are under pressure to pay. Victims should be able to say I was confused by the road signage and layout and it should be up to the council/Adj to prove that it was adequate.
cp8759
QUOTE (NELSON MANDELA @ Sat, 21 Apr 2018 - 19:53) *
The AA was right once a particular bus lane generates a couple of hundred PCN's then it should be suspended pending a full investigation. The adjudication system is a joke the councils have full time lawyers and traffic engineers, the general public have no knowledge of what is required and are under pressure to pay. Victims should be able to say I was confused by the road signage and layout and it should be up to the council/Adj to prove that it was adequate.

That is already the case, it is for the authority to establish that the contravention occurred. I dare say you might not be fully impartial, as you're unhappy with how your case went. As a dispassionate observer, the adjudication system seem fair to me.
Incandescent
One thing that needs to go into the guidance is to re-offer the discount if an appeal is made within the discount period. Some councils already do this, but there are some venal and rapacious councils, (Nottingham City Council for instance), that don't.
The current guidance is a joke, still in draft form since 2008, 10 years ago. Councils are absolutely coining it, especially in London where PCN penalties are double the rest of the UK.
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