3. Camden Road, SW-BND, Bus lane, Final appeal
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Camden Road, SW-BND, Bus lane, Final appeal
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Hi,

Location:
Driver was driving towards the main Camden High Street.
Leaving the Camden Bridge/Camden Road overground station behind, just before the big Sainsbury's shop.


Conditions:
Dark night, very dodgy weather.
Driver naturally stayed on the left lane after the bridge, which made the first 'bus lane' sign completely out of sight.
It is obscured by a big Congestion Sign notice, at least double the size of the bus lane notice.

Driver didn't notice the second sign at all. We think it was vandalised or skewed on the night.
We just saw it now on the PCN and on historical goole maps going back couple years.

There is absolutely no 'bus lane' wording painted on the road surface. Anywhere.
Bus lane itself must be only a couple meters long as you get a left turn shorty.
There were no buses present when the apparent contravention occurred.

I've made a couple snaps  to show the lack of street wording.
Check the top view, there is no notice written anywhere on the street surface.

Exact location:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/ZWnfYcjA3k6Q6P688

Can the bus lane be actually enforceable in such situation?
Would love to hear your opinion on this and thank you very much for your time.


PS. Letter arrived just now, but is dated 7th of January, must be post Christmas post delay I guess ;)

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Re: Camden Road, SW-BND, Bus lane, Final appeal
« Reply #1 on: »
Quote
Can the bus lane be actually enforceable in such situation?
Would love to hear your opinion on this and thank you very much for your time.

Well, of course TfL can continue to enforce the bus lane, that's why there is a process for submitting representations against the enforcement, and finally, an adjudication service, London Tribunals, to decide which of the two sides is correct. The biggest problem for most PCN recipients is the discount option, because if one submits representations and they are inevitably rejected, the discount is normally re-offered. However, the next stage, the adjudication stage, the discount option is lost and one must risk the full PCN penalty. Of course a win means there is nothing to pay.

Here, the appeal case is the sign clutter on approach to the bus lane, i.e its "adequacy". This is clearly shown in GSV views going back some year. Signs must be adequate to convey the restriction to motorists, inedeed it is a duty in Regulation 18 of the The Local Authorities’ Traffic Orders (Procedure) (England and Wales) Regulations 1996
(see 18 (1)(a))
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1996/2489/regulation/18
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Re: Camden Road, SW-BND, Bus lane, Final appeal
« Reply #2 on: »
Hi,

Thank you for the input.

After checking it seems there is a newer version from 2016.
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2016/362/made

The TSRGD prescribes mandatory signs and road markings for enforceable restrictions like bus lanes.
Road Markings for Bus Lanes

Standard bus lanes (with-flow or contra-flow) typically require:
A boundary line: usually a solid white line (diagram 1049A or 1049B in TSRGD) to define the lane edge.
Road legend: the word "BUS" (or sometimes "BUS LANE") marked on the road surface in the prescribed diagram, such as diagram 1048 ("BUS LANE" wording) or similar bus symbol/legend markings.
Schedule 9, Part 6, item 14 and onwards.

Looking at the above it seems that this particular bus lane is without the prescribed road markings (particularly the "BUS LANE" legend) and therefore the lane doesn't fully comply with TSRGD requirements.

In this particular case the road surface 'bus lane' markings are completely absent, what do you think?

Thank you.
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Re: Camden Road, SW-BND, Bus lane, Final appeal
« Reply #3 on: »
Quote
After checking it seems there is a newer version from 2016.
No there isn't.  You've quoted a completely different set of regulations related to standards for traffic signs and road markings.
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Re: Camden Road, SW-BND, Bus lane, Final appeal
« Reply #4 on: »
Hi,

In this situation should I just pay?

Any ideas?
I'm running out of time here, please.

Thank you for your help.
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Re: Camden Road, SW-BND, Bus lane, Final appeal
« Reply #5 on: »
Quote from: Mack on February 01, 2026, 02:06:05 pm
Hi,

In this situation should I just pay?

Any ideas?
I'm running out of time here, please.

Thank you for your help.
Well it's up to you really. You said it was dark and dodgy weather and the driver missed the sign due to what we call "sign clutter", and indeed looking at GSV shows this is a credible argument to put in front of an adjudicator.

Trouble is you have to risk the full PCN amount, and also the adjudicator may think the signage is adequate. The problem here is the signage must be 'adequate' under Regulation 18 of The Local Authorities’ Traffic Orders (Procedure) (England and Wales) Regulations 1996,  and unfortunately this is subjective, your 'inadequate' is the council's 'adequate. The adjudicator has to decide which party is right. So your appeal points would need to not just major on sign adequacy but the weather at the time and it being dark making what might be adequate in broad daylight, not so at night and in bad weather.
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  3. Camden Road, SW-BND, Bus lane, Final appeal