I am planning on sending the following letter to Barnet. Any comments or suggestions would be most welcome:
Subject: Appeal of Penalty Charge Notice [PCN Number]
Dear Barnet Council,
I am writing to challenge the Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) [PCN Number], issued on [date] at [location]. I am the keeper of the car, and my son was driving the car at the time.
As shown in the image evidence provided, a vehicle was stopped near the width restriction, obstructing the left-turn lane. Police officers were actively managing the situation at the time, and several vehicles, including mine, were forced to carefully navigate around the traffic island to avoid the obstruction.
Given that the stopped vehicle blocked the route, there was liquid on the road surface, which looked like oil, the car had it's hazard lights on, and in my judgement a high likelihood of other additional road hazards, such as mirror shards or other debris, it would not have been safe to go through the width restriction. Therefore, my son proceeded cautiously and followed the actions of other drivers who also diverted to the opposite side of the traffic island to avoid any potential danger. You will note that the traffic approaching from Alexandra Grove were stopping at the "Give Way" lines at the junction, the on coming traffic on Nether Street would also need to slow down as they had to go through the width restriction and finally the traffic from Argyle Road were also stopping at the "Give Way" lines.
The police presence including a police car on at the scene indicates that this was an unusual circumstance and were managing the traffic situation, and I believe my actions were reasonable and necessary to ensure safe passage. I acted with due care and caution, and in light of these exceptional circumstances, I respectfully request that this PCN be cancelled.
Thank you for considering my appeal.
Kind regards,
[Your Name]