Driver slapped with fine after driving in bus lane let off after finding penalty 'loophole'
manchestereveningnews.co.ukA driver who was slapped with a fine after driving in a bus lane has escaped without charge after challenging the council. Bill Ball, 78, received a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) after driving into the restricted lane last November.
But he decided to challenge the fine and took the council to a tribunal - where his £35 charge was scrapped. The tribunal found that signage did not "adequately inform" drivers about the bus lane, reports the Nottingham Post. READ MORE: Join the FREE Manchester Evening News WhatsApp community The verdict following a hearing on March 15 said one of the three entry signs to the bus gate on Canal Street was not in place at the time.
Nottingham City Council said the sign had been damaged in a road accident and had deemed two signs to be sufficient. Mr Ball said it was a "complete fluke" that he made the discovery which eventually led him to appeal. "I'd never driven in the city before and I just didn't notice this bus lane," he said. "The camera that took a photo of me in the bus lane also took a picture of the signs.
As a stranger I wasn't to know a sign would normally be in the middle, but I went on Google street view and there were three signs. "It was a complete fluke that I noticed it.
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