Free Traffic Legal Advice

Hi all,

I’ve received a Moving Traffic Penalty Charge Notice from London Borough of Newham for allegedly “Failing to comply with a prohibition on certain types of vehicle (motor vehicles)” — contravention code 52M.

Details:

PCN number: PN77444424

Vehicle Reg: EA12 NHZ

Contravention date/time: 27/09/2025 at 07:50

Location: Browning Road E12 (North Side)

Webcode: 193AT741

Front of PCN:
https://postimg.cc/gallery/k7SZxXq

Council video:


Side-angle photo of the signage:
https://i.postimg.cc/dVktGtqJ/1-FMA-MYL-10313.webp

My account of what happened

I was driving along Browning Road (North Side) early in the morning.
The signage for the restriction is facing the oncoming traffic, making it extremely difficult to see from my approach angle. By the time the signs become visible, it’s already too late to turn off safely without stopping abruptly or causing an obstruction.

From my dash-level view (see video), you can see the restricted-vehicle signs are placed side-on, not in a direct line of sight for drivers coming from my direction. The council’s camera angle also exaggerates visibility compared to what a driver actually sees.

The side-view photo above clearly shows how the signs are angled — they face traffic coming from the opposite side, not towards vehicles from my lane.

Supporting reference

There’s an article about this exact location highlighting confusion and poor signage placement:
https://www.mylondon.news/news/east-london-news/east-london-street-council-made-27244595

The article confirms that many motorists have been caught out because of how unclear and misleading the restriction signage is.

What I’m hoping for

Please could someone help me check:

1) Whether the signage at this location complies with the legal placement and visibility requirements for a motor vehicle restriction.

2) If there’s a known history of successful appeals for this location (Browning Road E12 North Side).

3) Any previous tribunal cases or template representations I could refer to.

Thanks very much for your time.
Ahmedyali

I’ve just come across a new tribunal decision that seems to match my situation almost exactly.

London Tribunals case reference 2240583131 (Malgorzata Dorota Czernik v London Borough of Newham) — Browning Road (North Side), decided 13 February 2025 — was allowed on the grounds that the signage wasn’t adequately visible to drivers approaching from Rectory Road.

Here’s the full case record on the London Tribunals site:
👉 https://londontribunals.org.uk/ords/pwslive/f?p=14952:70::INITIALISE::70:P70_CAS_REFNO,P70_PCN_REFNO,P70_RETURN_PAGE,P70_AST_CODE:1661501,3061690,60,APPEAL&cs=3-r43pjP3QxkUWcbM-GzgSu4escT-pzdygkjipgH7Q7o-2sO1wkTx2ohjXgdqhisJGbeeAdMtVsFMqbtzw-ujQA#content

The adjudicator (Cordelia Fantinic) accepted that:

> “The restriction signs are positioned on either side of Browning Road but are not visible to a driver approaching from Rectory Road, as they are too close to the junction and angled away from the line of sight.”



She also noted that the warning sign on Rectory Road is on the right-hand side of the carriageway and could easily be missed by a driver turning left from Chesterford Road — which is exactly the same situation I described in my case.

My approach and line of sight are identical to what’s described in that appeal. I’ve attached my own council video () and side-angle photo of the signs (https://i.postimg.cc/dVktGtqJ/1-FMA-MYL-10313.webp) which clearly show how the signs are facing oncoming traffic and not visible from my lane.

Would you say this tribunal decision is strong and compelling evidence to rely on in my formal representation? It feels like a mirror of my case, right down to the approach route and the sign angles.