Free Traffic Legal Advice

Assisted alighting - safely escorting your father to home and returning to car, taking only so long as necessary. See recent adjudicated cases below on boarding but alighting is the same.

The NTO is issued at £110 but they often reoffer the discount if they reject to try and stop you taking it to the tribunal.

Buy a decent holder!

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2240406329

The CEO's images show Mrs xxxxx's car stopped on the single yellow line during the controlled hours. Mrs xxxxx appeals because she says that her husband was stopped to pick up their young child from xxxxx. The PCN was issued at 3.32pm. There was no observation period by the CEO before the PCN was issued and Mr xxxx says that he was away from the car for around 5 minutes. He says that he saw the CEO on returning to the car and explained what he had been doing. Mr xxxx tells me that his child is eight years old and must be collected from within the School premises.
I am satisfied from the evidence that Mr xxxx was picking up his child from school and that the picking up exemption therefore applies. The exemption allows a motorist to leave a vehicle where a passenger needs to be escorted or assisted as is clearly the case with young children.

2240435225

The CEO's images show that Ms xxxx's car was parked on a single yellow line and it is not disputed that this was during the controlled hours of the CPZ. There was an observation period of only 2 minutes before the PCN was issued. Ms xxxx says that she was away from the car for around 3 minutes to collect her young child from the family home. She says that she had to help her child put on his shoes and coat.
I am satisfied from the evidence that the picking up exemption applies in this case. A motorist may leave a vehicle to assist a passenger with the boarding process and this may include accompanying a person to the vehicle where this is necessary, such as in the case of a young child. I regard helping a child to put on his coat and shoes to be part of the process and not a separate activity.

Here's an assisted alighting case decided this week.

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2240372023

Reasons   At this scheduled personal hearing the Appellant attended in person but the Enforcement Authority did not attend and were not represented.
A contravention can occur if a vehicle is parked, waiting, loading or unloading in restricted street when a waiting, loading/unloading restriction is in force.
There appears to be no dispute that the vehicle was at this location, or that the Penalty Charge Notice was issued to it, as shown in the photographs/digital images produced by the Enforcement Authority.
The Appellant’s case is that is that he is a licenced private hire vehicle driver and was setting down a disabled passenger at the Premier Inn Hotel and had to assist him to the premises. The Appellant adds that when he returned, he explained this to the civil enforcement officer, who does not record this.
Picking up and setting down of passengers is permitted at this location. It should normally take no longer than two minutes but slightly longer must be allowed in the case of the elderly, disabled or very young, who may have to be escorted to nearby premises.
I have had the opportunity of hearing the Appellant personally and accept what he tells me.
Considering all the evidence before me carefully I find as a fact that, at the material time, picking up/setting down within the meaning of the exemption was taking place and thus a contravention did not occur.
Accordingly, this appeal must be allowed.

plus unload his shopping and then return to the car.

?

His shopping was in the car to which you returned or you took his shopping with you when helping him to the house and then distributed this within his house?

If you returned to the car to unload goods then this is a separate excepted activity.

I am not doubting your account, but pl recognise and somehow address in any reps - you've yet to receive a NTO- the issue of 2 separate journeys and a return to the car before a PCN had been served.

IMO, a more likely sequence of events was:

You parked and assisted your father. No CEO and no obs;
You returned to your car to collect shopping; still no CEO or obs;
CEO appears while you were unloading shopping.

Bear in mind the context also includes blue badge entitlement. If Harrow reject formal reps I'm inclined to think an adjudicator would take this into account as bolstering the alighting exemption but as said the exemption does need careful wording to stick to no longer than necessary.

Returning to get shopping is good as that shows assistance could not involve also coping with shopping IMO. And no doubt unloading is also an exemption...

See also a case I posted - the adjudicator also considered time to get a child into their shoes and coat was OK and was part of process.

OP, whatever happened happened and I can't see any point in trying to change this.

Perhaps....

On the day in question I was accompanying my father on a shopping trip or whatever it was;
We returned to *** where he lives and I parked:
We had several bags of shopping and therefore I had to make two journeys, the first to assist my father the second to collect and unload his shopping.
I would estimate that both trips took no longer than ** in total.
As a matter of habit we placed his BB and I thought that this had been displayed but accept that this wasn't the case and that part had fallen into the footwell.
I didn't find the PCN until I came to drive away - I can see why from the CEO's photos which show the PCN obscured when approaching the car from the rear. But whether this was issued during my first or second trip I don't know.

I can say that neither journey took longer than necessary and therefore I would submit that whether under the grounds of assisted alighting or unloading the PCN should be cancelled. In addition, if neither of these exemptions is accepted I would ask that the authority exercise discretion on this occasion.

Wait for others.

It seems clear they don't want to cancel because they are aggrieved about a previous cancellation but you said they were different circumstances.

I would wait for the NTO and we'll help you draft reps.

There's nothing you can do other than send another challenge but Harrow will probably tell you to wait for the NTO.

Is the logbook up to date with correct address.