Penalty Charge Notice (Bus Lane)

Were you driving a bus?

Very funny! As far as I know I did not cross the line.
Don't they have to show the infringement on the penalty
notice and not just a picture of my car apparently driving
legally in Wembley High Road?

If they haven't shown the infringement, they shoudn't be charging.
It's possible they're fining loads of people who've done nothing wrong.
I'd contest it and I'd probably phone the local papers and tell them about it too.

Hello mate btw, how are you?

Why not contact them and just ask the question -Why does your evidence not show me committing any offence?

Dotchinite, rules state that you CANNOT contact them until the 28 days
are up, then you can appeal. By which time the penalty doubles to £130.
The whole process stinks.

You might have to change your username Al if you're found guilty.

they make the whole appeal process as difficult as possible,may as well just pay up save your time & brain cells.i contested a fine in kingston for being snapped in a junction box which id only moved into to try to let an emergency vehicle through.i knew the circumstances but they said there was no evidence of it.theyre judge & jury no way you can have a fair hearing.

it cannot be done

Try phoning them up, they might speak to you. Never mind what the rules state
Or write asking for a photograph of your vehicle in the bus lane stating that the one they sent you does not show this.

http://pcnwp.blend-dns.co.uk/bus-lanes/information-suggestions-and-grounds-of-appeal-bus-lanes/

Dr Crippen, thanks for the link. I will have a proper look later after the racing.

Is it a still photo? If so it might have been taken at the time you were about to enter the lane or just leaving it. Some councils send videos of the time one is in the lane. If you KNOW you were not in the lane at anytime, the council cannot produce evidence.  If you were innocent, consider having  a go at counter suing for psychological damage due to you being a good citizen and you can't sleep due to flashbacks of the incident. If you know you are guilty. pay up to save time and effort.

Slicer, it's a still photo clearly showing me in the proper lane.
I 'might' have crossed the line 2-5 yards from the end of the lane
where the bus lane ends. But that is only a 'might'. I will go and
see where the camera is positioned tomorrow.

I would have thought that the photo provided would have had to show
the offence being committed.

I'm not sure what the photo sent to you must show. I am afraid the motorist is a cash cow these days and fines for this sort of thing are everyday hazards of modern life. If they are going to use cops to pursue motorists who drive at 31mph in a 30 zone and yet ignore the so called lesser crimes of burglary, shoplifting etc, there is no hope. I gave up several years ago as the battle for most things is lost. As Damon Runyon once said: "All life is 6/5 against"!

The philosophical way of looking at it is you are paying for the times you got away with it.
If you have never ever committed a minor traffic offence then you're unique and it's very tough on you.

If that's how it works, where do I send mine off to?

As a gambler, it's your duty to ignore it! How many do you reckon they nick each week? I reckon they are likely to only chase anyone when their target percentage is not met.
If they are nicking another hundred next week, they are unlikely to chase the low percentage who "tough it out".

"Someone I know" was caught on camera a tad over the speed limit on a fairly major road in London many years ago. A friend of this "unknown" person, suggested to the alleged "unknown" person, that if the said "unknown" person ignored the letters, the cozzers were unlikely to invite the "unknown" person to the "party". The "unknown" person took the friends' advice. Three increasingly firmish letters later, the "unknown" person heard no more and won the "bet"! The "unknown" person said that the wording of the letters were along the lines "please identify the driver", rather than "you have been caught red handed & the game's up guv!".

Hi Al,

First off, if the photo does not show you in the bus lane, appeal and you will win.
The prosecution is not allowed to withhold evidence from the defence, simple as.

So either they haven't got a photo of the offence and you win, or they have and they haven't provided to the defence and you win.

Another thing, driving in a bus lane is a moving traffic violation, i.e. it is an offence committed by a person, it can not be committed by a car.
So, if they do have a picture of the vehicle committing an offence, ask for a picture of the Driver as you are uncertain who was driving at said time.
( I have successfully used this about 15 years ago )

Other tactics:
When you write to them, refer to previous letter dated XXXXXX, ( which you might have forgotten to post )
Basically, now they think they have lost part of the case paperwork and will be very very reluctant to proceed because you may ask about it
when at tribunal/court.

When I think they have a weak case, I end my letter with "I Look forward to seeing you make a fool of yourself in front of a wider audience"
which I hope makes them even more reluctant to proceed.

Best of to you.

Nice work!

I'm not sure if it is still the case but several years ago I appealed on behalf of my niece and I was confident that I could it overturned.
Sure enough after the appeal I won and Southwark council agreed it had been issued in error. However, their take on things was that she should have paid the original fine in the time allowed and on a successful appeal the fine would have been refunded!
Nah, I'm not standing for that and fought them tooth and nail but they weren't having it at all and basically said I was lucky they didn't charge her double. I was not too happy to put it mildly.

Escapee - I think he was looking for a legal expert

Thanks Escapee for the detailed reply.

I was just doing my own research on the Brent website and there is a FREE
service there where they email film footage and photos of the said offence.
I should get a reply within 24 hours.

Nowhere on the penalty notice does it mention this service. Why not?

The photo on the penalty notice shows me clearly driving in a straight line,
and not in the bus lane.

Probably because it's farmed out to somewhere other than the council for processing.

Perhaps you could mention to the council that it should be a transparent system, with all information such as this ON the notice.
Surely you should be informed of your rights.

Like I said to you earlier, I'd be telling the papers about this, especially if you didn't go into the bus lane.
They must be charging loads of innocent motorists, many of whom won't argue.

Unless your face is on the camera, it could be a cloned vehicle.