[Hopkins]

Hello! I have a question about parking signage following a council issued PCN. Essentially, I was parked on a single yellow line outside the hours of a clearly marked "no loading" sign. It turns out that, about 100m up the road there was a yellow no waiting sign which had longer hours than the "no loading" sign. Are there regulations which stipulate maximum distances of signs from the zones to which they apply? The photographs which the council supplied as evidence are no different to those which I took - i.e. they show the no loading sign but not the yellow no waiting sign which is far up the road! Now I'm in the period where they say "if you want to continue to discuss then you'll forfeit the 50% discount" which may be an irritatingly effective and unfair pressure strategy on their part...

[Mark07]

Hi Hopkins,

Welcome to the Community.

To help our members, could you add the pics to this thread?

If you're using a mobile phone and can't see the text box options, try turning your phone to landscape.

EDIT: link to more usual information about PCN's

[Rolebama]

Poor signage was the reason my borough had to refund 1.5 million pounds for parking 'infringements'. I would suggest finding a solicitor who gives a 30 minute free consultation.

[TC1474]

Originally Posted by Hopkins

Hello! I have a question about parking signage following a council issued PCN. Essentially, I was parked on a single yellow line outside the hours of a clearly marked "no loading" sign. It turns out that, about 100m up the road there was a yellow no waiting sign which had longer hours than the "no loading" sign. Are there regulations which stipulate maximum distances of signs from the zones to which they apply? The photographs which the council supplied as evidence are no different to those which I took - i.e. they show the no loading sign but not the yellow no waiting sign which is far up the road! Now I'm in the period where they say "if you want to continue to discuss then you'll forfeit the 50% discount" which may be an irritatingly effective and unfair pressure strategy on their part...

First things first, contact your local library and obtain a copy of the traffic order relating to the parking restrictions on this section of road.

A massive percentage (it used to be over 80%, not sure if that is still the case) of traffic orders used to be illegal because they lines were slapped down and the signs failed to conform to the regulations in place.

The traffic order will tell you exactly where the regulations start and exactly where they finish, what signs must be in place, and the beauty is that so many are way out, in some cases by several feet. If the measurements or the sign do not match up to the traffic order, then it cannot be enforced and any prosecution is illegal.

Also check that the lines have termination lines at the end. No termination lines, illegal lines.

In one area that I used to Police, the council had to repaint and issue a new traffic order on about 20 occasions because they kept getting it wrong, and I think they are still wrong now.

So before you get legal advice (most solicitors do not have a clue about parking regs) do a bit of homework and you may save yourself a few shillings on 2 counts.

[Hopkins]

Thanks for the replies, and TC1474 for the extensive advice. I have a library just over the road and so I will pop in tomorrow morning. Is it the case that all libraries include public records like these? I got as far as looking on the internet for general regulations, but the gov.uk page seems focused on the responsibilities of the motorist only rather than also showing the responsibilities of the local authority!