Councils make THOUSANDS in bus lane fines
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The motorist, who wishes to remain anonymous, was slapped with a £60 fine for driving a white car in a bus lane in Aberdeen, Scotland. However, they know it could not have been them as they weren’t in the country when the photograph was taken and their car was black.
The motorist told The Guardian: “My insurer recently provided me with a hire car from Enterprise after an accident.
“I soon received a £60 penalty charge notice (PCN) for driving in a bus lane in Aberdeen.
“Not only can I prove I wasn’t in Scotland, but the photo on the PCN also shows a completely different car.
“I’ve appealed against the fine, but Enterprise has already deducted a £35 administration fee for providing Aberdeen council with my details.
“The local branch can’t help, there’s no phone number for contesting the fee, and my email hasn’t been answered.”
Enterprise said: “Where there is an alleged traffic violation we rely on the information being passed to us by the relevant authority being correct.
“Details received from the council gave the registration of the vehicle which the customer had hired.”
Enterprise has now reportedly refunded the fee after the confusion.
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While the registered keeper of a vehicle – such as a car hire company – is liable to pay any fines, they can pass the responsibility to the driver.
This is provided the customer signs an agreement to accept responsibility for PCNs incurred while they are at the wheel.
Earlier this year, a nurse was fined for driving her car into a Derby bus lane to allow an ambulance to go past.
Gwen Bednall was travelling along a main road in Derby on April 23 with her son in the passenger seat.
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She said she saw an ambulance approaching from behind with its sirens on heading towards the city centre.
Gwen moved into the bus lane as she approached a set of traffic lights but saw the lane was blocked after the bus lane ended, with cars wanting to turn left.
As she saw no buses coming, she moved into the last few metres of the bus lane to leave the right-hand lane free.
She was left shocked when her actions led her to receive a £30 fine for the incident.
Gwen, who has been a nurse for over 20 years and works at the Royal Derby Hospital, said: “I can remember it exactly because I knew I did it.
“I did it for a reason and I knew why I had done it. It was going fast and had its blue lights on, so I didn’t think.
“I thought they would let me off as I thought it was so clear, what I had done.”
She said she was told the ambulance should have gone in the bus lane but added if she stayed where she was, both lanes would have been blocked.
She claimed that she could see five or six cars waiting to turn, so thought to move to the left lane to free up the right lane going towards the city centre.
The 46-year-old said that although the fine was reduced to £30 if she paid within 14 days, she felt the principle was wrong and that she would do the same again in the future.
The next day, however, Derby City Council reached out to Gwen to say the ticket had been waived, despite having earlier rejected her explanation.
A spokesperson for the Council told Derbyshire Live: “The Council cannot comment on individual cases. The footage for each case is reviewed individually and provides context for a Civil Enforcement Officer to understand the circumstances the driver was faced with.”
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