Thousands of drivers paying invalid fines, AA says

Thousands of drivers across London have been paying invalid penalty charge notices (PCNs) due to enforcement and restriction cameras that relied upon expired Traffic Management Orders (TMOs) or lacked updated certification, according to the AA.

Recent rulings by London Tribunals' traffic adjudicators show at least six councils have issued such PCNs.

The AA raised concerns about those who appealed against the penalty and did not have their PCNs cancelled after the first complaint.

The Department for Transport (DfT) said a revamp of TMOs which govern local road restrictions was now being proposed.

London boroughs Lambeth, Harrow, Redbridge and Greenwich, Croydon and the City of London were unable to provide paperwork to validate some of the PCNs they had issued in the three weeks to 4 January.

According to court documents in one case involving Croydon Council on 16 December, an appeal against a PCN was allowed because the TMO the council mentioned expired 12 days before the alleged contravention, and evidence of any valid replacement order was not provided.

In another case heard on the same day involving the City of London Corporation, an appeal against a PCN was allowed because the Corporation relied, in its evidence, on a TMO which had expired the month before the alleged contravention.

The adjudicators cancelled these penalties, but the AA believes this is just "the tip of the iceberg".

An analysis by AA, based on London Councils statistics, showed 56% of appeals made against bus lane penalties last year were either upheld or not contested.

For moving traffic offences such as stopping in a yellow box when not allowed, the figure was 35%.

Altogether, nearly 7,300 appeals were successful.

But hundreds of drivers who received these PCNs paid within 14 days to secure the 50% discount for early settlement, the AA said.

Both Croydon Council and the City of London refute the AA's analysis.

Southwark News reported that last year, 4,478 PCNs amounting to a total of more than £500,000 resulted from motorists entering a bus lane in Rotherhithe that did not have a valid TMO.

Luke Bosdet, from the AA's motoring policy unit, said: "Dishing out fines for any restriction that has expired is outrageous.

"The lack of accountability for councils' road traffic enforcement needs to be reviewed by the Department for Transport," he said.

A DfT spokesman said: "Local authorities are responsible for local traffic measures and they should make sure penalties for the use of bus lanes are fair and proportionate.

"They must ensure their Traffic Management Orders are up to date, and we will be sharing proposals to modernise this process, making it more efficient for local authorities."

A London Councils spokesperson said it could not comment on decisions made by individual London boroughs as "it was not the decision-maker in the examples cited by the AA".

"We encourage any motorist who does not believe that the PCN should have been issued to make representations to the local authority, and then appeal any rejected decision with London Tribunals. The independent adjudicator exists for the very reason of dealing with difficult cases," they added.

Data from the organisation shows a total of 16,351 appeal decisions were made for moving traffic contraventions in 2023-24.

A total of 3,453,439 moving traffic PCNs were issued in the city, meaning 0.47% of them progressed to appeal.

Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected]