Hi all,
This is the first PCN I have ever received and suffice to say, I'm pretty miffed to put it nicely.
Situation was that at xmas I went to visit my family in Chester. One morning I took my sister into town to drop her off at her work. I got to the street, on which many many people stop on a daily basis to pick-up/drop-off (I used to live in Chester), and stopped on the side of the road to let my sister out. I must have been stopped no more than about 10 seconds. However, where I stopped was in a taxi rank which, from memory, was pretty empty.
From what I can tell having read various forums and having checked on Google Street View, the taxi rank has the correct yellow box area and accompanying signs on the roadside poles. However, as I was completely unaware that stopping for enough time to kick someone out the car was an offence, I now have the PCN through my door and just want to check if this can be challenged.
I've uploaded some pics of the PCN together with some pics i've taken from StreetView. Unfortunately, I live a fair distance from Chester now and can't go back to get actual photos so please bear with me.
Pics of the PCN
PCN1 – http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=34xmkrc&s=7
PCN2 – http://tinypic.com/r/63u3ap/7
PCN3 – http://tinypic.com/r/2jeuxqu/7
Pics of the taxi rank
TR_Left – http://tinypic.com/r/25amcg7/7
TR_Right – http://tinypic.com/r/ine2rl/7
TR_All – http://tinypic.com/r/2utn6le/7
Pics of the roadside signs
TR_Sign1 – http://tinypic.com/r/23vcbuu/7 (Apologies for clarity)
TR_Sign2 – http://tinypic.com/r/aonu3n/7 (Again this isn't very clear, however appears to read 'No stopping except taxis')
I've read on one forum that the word 'Taxis' should be written on the road at least once every 12 metres, however I don't know how true this is. From the pics, the taxi rank appears to be the length of 3 shops which I would be surprised if these three in total were less than the suggested 12 metres.
If I have missed any information that you may need please let me know. I'd really appreciate any input you may have.
Cheers
Matt