Unbeknownst to me, in the name of reducing city centre pollution, Arundel Gate is currently part of a traffic management project. Essentially, the entire road has been closed to private vehicles and is now only open to buses and taxis.
For the first two months of the experiment, offenders were simply sent warning notices but now fines are being doled out for the unwary. And it goes like this - I don't know if it is the same in other countries - you are automatically fined £70 ($89 US) but if you pay up within twenty eight days you only pay £35. It is a kind of unsavoury arm twisting to make drivers cough up some cash.
As I say, I knew nothing of the closure and never in my wildest dreams did I ever expect that a major thoroughfare would ever be closed off in this manner but today I received a penalty notice including CCTV photos of Clint and your friendly blogging correspondent behind the wheel.
The offence occurred on the evening of Saturday July 22nd. I had offered to drive Ian and his pregnant girlfriend Sarah to The Crucible Theatre. They had tickets to see "Miss Saigon". As I recall, it was raining and visibility was poor. Besides, I never imagined such a drastic change to historical traffic arrangements. It was a route I have taken many times in the past.
Why would anybody knowingly drive along a heavily restricted road if they knew they would receive a hefty fine as a direct result of that decision? It just does not make sense.
The fine notice concerns my journey back into the city centre to pick Ian and Sarah up. It bothers me that I have not yet received a penalty notice connected with earlier that evening when I set them down outside The Crucible. Perhaps that one will arrive tomorrow to turn my fuming into a seething inferno of rage.
And if you are thinking of saying, "Get over it!" please don't.
I think you can plead your way out of the fines just by telling them to read a few posts from your blog. It's kind of like pleading insanity in our courts.
ReplyDeleteYour kind support and understanding are always much appreciated Bruce.
DeleteGreeting from Australia, that ticket sucks, some years ago I got a parking ticket, parked in the same spot I frequently parked in at local shops, returned to car with fine attached to windscreen, only then did I notice the parking sign had been changed to a restricted permit zone , meaning I couldnt park there, sign was obscured by trees, I fought the fine, I took photos of the obscured sign and many other obscured hidden signs and complained, and complained and yes complained, apparently parking changes were advertised in the local paper, but I dont read the local paper, so I challenged the communication of proposed changes as there needs to be many different ways any proposed changes to traffic and parking laws are communicated to the public, challenge the fine, love your blog, regards Katrina from Australia. P.S I won the fine was cancelled.
ReplyDeleteI have successfully fought several tickets in the past but I am not too hopeful about fighting this one.
DeleteSheffield council is abusing motorists; shocking when you think how
ReplyDeletehard-up people are today; and how many live on the edge of despair.
A young American student was fined £75 by council litter inspectors
for dropping a cigarette stub in a Glasgow street - I saw it with my own eyes.
I spoke with the two men in uniform asking why there were no anti-litter signs.
*There are no signs saying rape and robbery are against the law,* one told me.
Don't seethe with rage. It is very bad for your blood pressure.
Anger must be cool, strategic, political and directional.
I hate what is happening to our country; and I despise our crooked, arrogant,
and sociopathic government ministers; but I do not allow anger to damage
my immune system or devalue my peace of mind.
Gale-force winds of change are coming. They will pull down the powerful.
Your last remark is like that of a visionary. You must be referring to Keir Starmer's Labour Party.
Delete*Attlee, not Blair, must be Starmer's inspiration.*
DeletePeter Oborne 2023 online.
Neoliberal economics failed us. It is socialism for the rich.
Right-wing governments abandoned the poor, cutting benefits
and services. We should put the Tories on trial for their crimes.
In Glasgow I see the grandchildren of Scotland's industrial workers,
strung out on drugs and booze, because they have no future.
Peter Oborne has a new book in paperback :
* The Fate of Abraham - Why the West is Wrong about Islam*.
It so impressed me that I read Lesley Hazleton's biography of
Muhammed, *The First Muslim* - a gripping narrative.
Karen Armstrong (YouTube) wrote an incisive life of the Prophet.
Who decided this? Do you have a city/town council that makes these decisions? If so, I would present myself to them at their next meeting and let them know what I think!
ReplyDeleteThe City Council decided it but they didn't tell me!
DeleteDidn’t know I was reading the blog of an outlaw!
ReplyDeleteThey call me Billy... Billy The KId.
DeleteWe have photo radar here . Those sneaky tickets really make your whatever boil. I've received 3 of them. Here they are $210.00
ReplyDeleteDo you run The Red Charity?
DeleteDid they not preoperly inform EVERYONE of the road closure? Shame on them. It should have been in newspapers and on TV news services for at least a week.
ReplyDeleteIt would have been in our local newspaper months ago but the trouble is we don't buy it any more.
DeleteDrastic changes to much used routes for individual traffic need to be marked so clearly and obviously that no driver can miss them, whatever the weather conditions or time of day. Also, first time offenders should still just have a warning issued, not immediately have to pay.
ReplyDeleteOf course we all know that individual traffic can not keep going the way it has been for the last 40 years or so, with serveral cars to each household etc., but as long as public transport is not really an option for almost everyone, regardless of where they live or at what time they need or want to be somewhere (reliably!), nothing will change.
They need to have a big "No Entry" sign on that new "bus gate".
DeleteWhy in the name of all things holy (and unholy) do they assume that everyone who drives in that area does so regularly and thus knows the change in rules. They should have clearly signed warnings in large, well lit writing. Damn them, I say.
ReplyDeleteI pay them enough in our monthly community charges.
DeleteFine arrangements in Australia are not like that. To start with, the fine would be minimum $200 and there would be no way to reduce the price.
ReplyDeleteOver the years I've had a few tickets I could have done without but I haven't fought them, it's very rare to win.
On just one occasion I was harried and flustered after dropping kids at school and heading to a job where I was bullied daily. I was too fast through the school zone and the policeman who pulled me over saw fit to give me a warning. It must be 15 years ago and I still remember that guy fondly
And I bet that judicious warning slowed you down better than a fine would have done.
DeleteWe had a similar experience driving through Cambridge last year. Husband used to live there 50 years ago, but it was much changed and we were sort of lost! Turned into a road that was restricted traffic and got a £60 fine some days later. Annoying to say the least!
ReplyDeleteIf we spent all of our time looking at road signs we'd probably crash on a regular basis.
DeleteExactly...the banned road that we turned into was an absolute mass of signage.
DeleteHave you not noticed that one is more likely to get run over by a tram rather than a car in Manchester. I truly am sorry that you got one or two tickets, councils are corrupt like that. But can't resist, 'Wake up, haven't you smelt the coffee yet'. Please delete if needed ;)
ReplyDeleteWhere is this coffee? I prefer tea myself.
DeleteIt seems sneaky to not put up signs warning drivers of the road restrictions and then fine them for driving along it without knowing it was not allowed.
ReplyDeleteThere are new signs but not a big "No Entry" sign.
DeleteThese schemes are not always signed very well, especially in poor visibility. You can be on the edge with no way to turn back. I've been caught both in York and in Newcastle, but let off both times. Don't go to Leeds now unless you know the complicated new restrictions.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't go to Leeds anyway. As the football chant goes in the rest of Yorkshire - "We all hate Leeds!"
DeleteInfuriating - and all designed to make you either use public transport or pay up and put more money in the city's coffers.
ReplyDeleteAt one time road changes were notified by circular to each householder individually. Our local Town Hall used to do this but nowadays you have to refer to their website for updates. Not much use if you haven't got a computer or mobile phone!
The road needs bollards, the kind of which raise and and lower. Then you can be a great YouTube video star, as a rising bollard when you have ever so cleverly thought to follow a bus and the bollard smashes the front of your car, with radiator fluid and engine oil pouring out. Repair costs perhaps more than a fine.
ReplyDeleteSpeechless,
ReplyDeleteCan you appeal it? That does seem pretty ridiculous, especially if the change has just been made. There ought to be a grace period with more lenient enforcement, so people can adapt.
ReplyDeleteI like what Bruce wrote:)
ReplyDeleteWhat can I say? Apparently not get over it. I'm guessing you won't make the same mistake again but it should have been clearly marked.
I think the Bladerunners will be having a recruitment drive.
ReplyDeletehttps://metro.co.uk/2023/08/01/ulez-blade-runners-london-camera-vandals-19228527/