Motorists snared after bus lane camera moved
Reporter HUNDREDS more of drivers than usual have been hit by bus lane fines after a council moved monitoring cameras.
The camera on Fowler Street, South Shields, snared 1,942 drivers between April and June this year as South Tyneside Council’s income from bus lanes rocketed from £8,505 in 2015 to £81,245 in the first six months of 2017 alone.
South Tyneside Council first introduced cameras in South Shields on Fowler Street, Sunderland Road and Westoe Road back in 2014, while another was installed on Edinburgh Road a year later.
Driver Mark Purves is one of the 1,942 motorists to have been snapped in Fowler Street’s bus lane between April and June.
The dad-of-two was stunned when the fine landed on his doorstep.
Mark, 38, said: “I didn’t even really realise at the time I had actually done it. I came out one of the side streets (Albermarle Street), and the camera sign is where the camera actually is – there’s no pre-warning. It is not very well signposted.
“That section tiny. It does not make any sense for a camera to be there.”
Rather than appeal and risk having to pay the full £60 fine, Mark decided to pay up £30, but also submitted a Freedom of Information request to find out how many drivers had found themselves in the same situation. He was shocked to discover a massive 1,942 fines had been issued between April 1 and June 12. Only 484 notices were handed out to drivers in the whole year before.
A South Tyneside Council spokesperson attributed the staggering rise across the borough, including Fowler Street, to a change in location for the cameras.
But Mark insisted the surge in drivers caught on Fowler Street proves the signage is inadequate.
He added: “I’ve got no doubt that this bus lane has been put in to make money. You don’t stand on that street and see streams of buses going by, it’s not like Newcastle city centre.
“How can you say this number of people have done this deliberately to save 30 seconds on their journeys? There is no real benefit.
A council spokesperson said: “The bus lane on Fowler Street is clearly signed and complies with Department for Transport regulations.
“Vehicle owners have the right to appeal if they feel the ticket has been wrongly issued. Details are on the reverse of the charge notice.
“Ideally, we would not have to issue any fines, however using a bus lane is illegal and unsafe and we would encourage motorists to observe the restrictions.”