Free Traffic Legal Advice

Hi, there.  There is a Bus Lane Trap in Portsmouth City Centre which is in the national top ten for raking it in I believe. As a driver approaches a smallish roundabout there are signs saying no left turn except things like buses etc (it passes the shops). No signage states that you cannot turn right at this roundabout, or that any restrictions apply once entering the road.  After you have turned right (which is legal) you catch from the corner of your eye that somewhere a bus lane will start, but nothing to suggest that you cannot reach the next set of traffic lights in 100m time. You are now in a section of road which has no exit due to there being a bus lane that is about to start.

What appears to be the parallel running lane is in fact oncoming traffic, except that at midnight with no vehicles around you would not know that. At night, with no traffic, it presents as if you should move to the right to avoid the bus lane, except you are then driving down the wrong side of the road.

I was driving a large long wheelbase van. I could have done a 7 point turn on a main road, (is that allowed) if I'd known that the RHS lane was in fact for oncoming traffic and it was impossible to continue going forward. The only legally permitted option was to reverse up a main road, reverse around the roundabout, and then drive forwards again. As a driver you don’t expect to be expected to do that.

The sign (which I went to look for a fortnight later) which does not appear in the Highway Code, suggest that the driver should move into the RHS of the road and prepare to turn right at the next junction which is traffic light controlled and is barely a 50m or so in front.

The "Trap" is on Bishop Crispin way. The Google Street view link is below.  (if the link doesn't work, go to the Portsmouth Travelodge on Edinburgh Rd) and take a “virtual” drive along Bishop Crispin Road and imagine you are doing so at night.

Why was I here? I was at the mini roundabout, going to the Travelodge; it was midnight with no traffic about.  if the council genuinely wanted to stop people driving along that road, they could put up a "no entry except buses" sign at the entrance to the road.  The problem for council with doing that is that clear signage would not rake in millions of pounds in penalties.

if it could be shown that this trap was illegal (beside being dangerous) then there would be 100'000's of people due a refund. It would dwarf the recent victory as per the current newspaper items.

I queried the notice (and I'm good at doing that type of thing). There is no point appealing as you will lose since the councils grandma reviews all appeals, and then you need to pay the full ticket price. For the £35, I paid it, but I would ask for it back via the small claims court.  There would be no time pressures going that way.  A smart lawyer could even get his fees of the council by winning a class action.

I did come a cross a barrister who said that sometimes he fought these ridiculaous PCN's pro-bono and then he'd get a donation sent to a charity, but he was busy with work. He implied that proving the sign was illegal would be the way to go, and I'm sure that it was.

I was driving a large long wheelbase van. I could have done a 7 point turn on a main road, (is that allowed) if I'd known that the RHS lane was in fact for oncoming traffic and it was impossible to continue going forward. The only legally permitted option was to reverse up a main road, reverse around the roundabout, and then drive forwards again. As a driver you don’t expect to be expected to do that.

There is nothing inherently illegal in a 7-point turn, so reversing was not the only option, and was itself arguably illegal.

AFAIK reversing around a roundabout is not a specific offence - probably because no-one ever imagined it happening. But it would almost certainly be regarded as careless or even dangerous driving.

Doing the GSV "tour" as suggested, I note the following:
* On entering Bishop Crispin Way , the May 2015 images show a No Through Road sign. This appears to have gone away in the following 10 years.
* Go down the road a bit, then turn round to look back at the roundabout, and there's a sign  (it's now March 2022!) showing the bus only restriction "ahead" and that other traffic should execute a U-turn. This sign appears to be facing in completely the wrong direction. As seen, it makes no sense as you are approaching the roundabout and it's on the right hand side of the road. It should surely be facing the other way. What was the state of this sign at the time? It it's been "fixed", which your description suggests is the case, then it would be argued you had sufficient warning, i.e. the "mandatory U turn required" sign you were asking for.

I'm sure there's a good reason councils seem to use the blue "buses only" signs rather than the more traditional "No Entry" or "No Through Road" signs with a plate showing "except for buses". It's probably been explained on this (or a previous) forum before, but surely the latter would be much clearer.