Accrington Observer

Bus lane fine farce

- STUART PIKE stuart.pike@menmedia.co.uk @stuartpike­78

HIGHWAYS chiefs have admitted they wrongly sent out £60 penalty charge notices to drivers who had been forced to use a bus lane due to their own roadworks.

Lancashire County Council (LCC) issued the farcical fines after numerous drivers were snapped entering a bus lane in Clayton-le-Moors because of traffic management signals and diversions.

Furthermor­e, the photograph­ic evidence they supplied to one driver showed traffic cones strewn across the carriagewa­y and other vehicles following.

A county council spokespers­on said they understood that 14 penalties were issued - and all have since been cancelled.

Among the drivers whose fine has been rescinded is Geoff Biscomb, 62, who contacted LCC to appeal the alleged transgress­ion near the Whalley Road/ Sparth Road junction, which followed a trip out with his wife on June 2.

Semi-retired aerospace worker Geoff, from Huncoat, said: “We hadn’t been out for quite a while and we decided on a nice day to go out to Edisford Bridge.

“I came to the road which I’m aware there is a bus lane on so I always go through the proper channel, but because of the roadworks traffic lights were operating and there was one-way traffic. As the lights went to green we were diverted through the bus lane. For about the last 20m [of the bus lane] the cones stopped, but there was a thick white line so I stayed in the bus lane.”

Geoff added that his wife’s first instinct was that he should pay the fine because there is a 50 per cent discount for quick payment, but he knew he had done nothing wrong.

He added: “The alleged contravent­ion was supported by photo and video evidence. But on one of the pictures I received from Lancashire County Council you can see behind me there are another five or six ‘offending’ vehicles.”

Peter Bell, regulation and enforcemen­t manager for Lancashire County Council, said: “We cancelled a number of penalties as soon as we realised that some had been issued as a result of drivers being directed into the bus lane to avoid roadworks, and prevented any further penalties being issued while the works were ongoing.

“A permit had been issued for work on the footway relating to the gas supply, which shouldn’t have affected traffic or the bus lane. The permit was revoked as soon as we found out that the contractor was working in the road with traffic management directing vehicles into the bus lane. We will work with the contractor on a more suitable way to carry out the work which is needed in the near future.”

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 ??  ?? ● The photograph showing the cars in the bus lane and (inset) Geoff Biscomb
● The photograph showing the cars in the bus lane and (inset) Geoff Biscomb

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