According to the AA, countless drivers in London have been paying invalid penalty charge notices (PCNs) due to enforcement and restriction cameras that were based on expired Traffic Management Orders (TMOs) or lacked proper certification.
Recent findings from traffic adjudicators at London Tribunals reveal that at least six councils have issued such invalid PCNs.
The AA expressed concern for those who appealed their penalties only to find their PCNs remained active after the initial complaint.
The Department for Transport (DfT) has announced plans to overhaul TMOs, which regulate local road restrictions.
Several London boroughs, including Lambeth, Harrow, Redbridge, Greenwich, Croydon, and the City of London, failed to provide documentation to substantiate some of the PCNs issued in the three weeks leading up to January 4.
Court records indicate that in one instance involving Croydon Council on December 16, an appeal was granted because the referenced TMO had expired 12 days before the alleged infraction, and there was no evidence of a valid replacement order.
In another case on the same day concerning the City of London Corporation, an appeal was upheld because the Corporation’s evidence relied on a TMO that had lapsed the month before the claimed violation.
While these penalties were revoked, the AA contends that this situation represents only “the tip of the iceberg.”
The AA’s analysis, based on data from London Councils, revealed that last year, 56% of appeals against bus lane penalties were either upheld or not contested. For moving traffic offences, such as improperly stopping in a yellow box, the success rate was 35%. In total, nearly 7,300 appeals were victorious.
However, hundreds of drivers who paid these PCNs within the first 14 days to receive a 50% discount may have done so incorrectly, according to the AA.
Both Croydon Council and the City of London have disputed the AA’s findings.
Southwark News reported that last year, 4,478 PCNs resulting in over £500,000 were issued to motorists who entered a bus lane in Rotherhithe lacking a valid TMO.
Luke Bosdet from the AA’s motoring policy unit remarked: “Issuing fines for restrictions that have lapsed is completely unacceptable. There needs to be an examination of the accountability surrounding councils’ enforcement of traffic regulations by the Department for Transport.”
A DfT representative stated: “Local authorities hold the responsibility for traffic management and should ensure that penalties for bus lane violations are fair and reasonable. They must keep their Traffic Management Orders current, and we will be proposing ways to modernize this process for greater efficiency in local governance.”
A spokesperson for London Councils noted that it could not comment on the decisions made by individual boroughs, as it was not the adjudicating authority in the cases referenced by the AA. “We urge any motorist who believes that a PCN was issued incorrectly to appeal to the local authority and subsequently to London Tribunals if their initial appeal is rejected. Independent adjudicators exist precisely for such challenging cases,” they added.
Data from the organization indicates that there were a total of 16,351 appeal decisions made regarding moving traffic violations in the 2023-24 period, out of 3,453,439 moving traffic PCNs issued in the city, resulting in just 0.47% proceeding to appeal.
