Free Traffic Legal Advice

I might be missing something obvious but where in the four posted pictures is the other traffic that you were waiting for?

I was waiting as there was no movement and my partner left the car to see what was the issue, the big truck was blocking traffic as can be seen in the video. Once that was clear, I was letting the other cars that had been waiting way longer than I was to pass through..

@Incandescent You have to see the street layout to understand what OP means : Rockley Road

There is only space for cars to pass on either one direction or the other. If cars are coming your way, you have to wait for the traffic coming your way to clear before you can pass. I know this street very well, the corner behind you is very narrow and there's a lorry entrance a bit after the corner, so lots of lorries always getting stuck by the turn, which is exactly what happened in the OP's video.

The problem is in that case that, the car is parked way too close to the kerb, that could kill the "waiting for traffic to clear" argument and there is zero evidence supporting your story on the pictures, no cars can be seen, the fact that it is true doesn't matter here. Even if you'd show a screenshot of the street, explaining that you have to wait for traffic, unfortunately it can't be seen on any picture, and I assume you do not have dashcam footage other that the video.

On the video that truck is behind you, so you could not argue that you were waiting for the truck to pass and I can't see a way to explain the video in that case

I understand why you would do that, as you wouldn't want to be in the middle of the road whilst you wife is outside to see what's going on, as you might have to drive-off at any time leaving her behind or receiving heavy honks from your peers behind.

But then again, I understand it as a driver, councils and adjudicators won't care.

You could try going a completely different route :

I would not mention the words "waiting" or "stopping", as waiting or parking in a double yellow line in London is not allowed. This is merely an admission of guilt as mentionned above. I'd try using the evidence they gave to you against them.

As you noted, the first picture was taken at 12:25:12, and the last one at 12:25:44, and on this last picture, you can be seen driving off. An adjudicator could reasonably agree if you say that this is the time that it took for you to see that very small "No loading at any time" sign, behind your car, and decided to drive off. The pictures also show that you have your feet on the break, and the car is therefore not really parked yet (The PCN ground is "parked on a double yellow line").

Those are the rules regarding double yellow lines for Fullham and Hammersmith :

"You can usually stop to drop off or pick up passengers on both single and double yellow lines unless there are small yellow lines marked on the pavement at right angles to its edge or signs say otherwise. If they're single markings, the restrictions will be in place during certain hours of the day, check the signs for what you can and can't do." (https://www.lbhf.gov.uk/parking/pay-and-display)

So you are allowed to stop, except if signs are saying otherwise (that case), but to be able to see the sign you need a few seconds to notice them, read them, and drive off.

So, a more credible option would be that :

"You pulled-over with the intention of dropping off someone, but then as doing so, you noticed the small sign behind the car saying "no loading at any time", and thefore decided to drive off immediately, as soon as safe to do so. The whole thing took you 30 seconds and can be proven by the timestamps on the pictures. Red lights proove that you are inside the car, feet on the brake, the car is therefore not parked, the whole matter is De Minimis and was not important enough to cause any issue or to be considered rule breaker. Also do mention that the observation period mentionned by the officer on the PCN is wrong. He mentions that it started at 12:24 but he has not provided any evidence of that, he also mentions 12:27:05, but your car is already driving off by 12:25:44, so the end period is not credible either."

That is the direction I would go, do not mention the words stopping or parking by any mean.

It is also possible for your video to be accepted, but it's hardly supported by the officer's pictures. In that case, you would need to take a screenshot of an aerial view of the street, and make a drawing of the car's positions at that time, to explain it properly. If no cars can be seen in front of you, it could simply be because they are waiting further down the road to allow for the truck to move down.

The only issue with all this, is that the car is way too close to the kerb, same position as the cars parked in front of you.

Please do wait for more senior members of the forum to give their opinion as well on that case, I'm only a motorist that does a lot of appeals. In my view the very minimal timestamp period and the fact that you'r in the car should not make it too difficult to cancel that one.

Estevenin  - I will follow your advice and focus on the argument that I was not parked but rather in the process of assessing the "No loading at any time" sign, which prompted me to drive off promptly. I will highlight the brief duration I was stopped and the timestamps on the pictures to support this claim.

Also will avoid using terms like "waiting" or "stopping" and instead emphasize the minimal time involved and the intent to comply with the traffic regulations as soon as the sign was noticed.

I will also look out for additional advice from more senior members (DWMB2 and b789 can you see if you can support? Deadline to submit appeal is tonight) of the forum, as you recommended.

Hello cp8759 & estevenin,

I have an update today, my PCN appeal has been rejected. Below is their letter.

Attached: Appeal Outcome and PCN

The video is now irrelevant since I did not mention waiting for traffic to pass as a reason in my appeal. My appeal was based on the response from Estevenin and since the deadline to appeal was May 31st, I was unable to include the response from cp8759.

I obviously want to challenge the outcome but need advice on how to present strong case to adjudicator. The first photograph was taken at 12:25:12.
The final photograph was taken at 12:25:44, clearly showing the vehicle driving off.
The PCN mentions an observation period starting at 12:24 and ending at 12:27:05, which is inconsistent with the provided photographic evidence.

666 - We've already covered that point, so there's no need to revisit it. I hope for more constructive assistance going forward, otherwise, this forum is not serving its purpose effectively.

Outcome.