Council suspend bus lane camera after tribunal ruling

A controversial bus lane camera located in Tavistock Road that has caught out drivers since its installation last summer, has been suspended following a ruling by the Traffic Penalty Tribunal.

The Traffic Penalty Tribunal upheld an appeal against a fine on the grounds that the turning into the adjacent car wash is confusing.

The Council have reacted to the decision by immediately suspending the camera and will repaint the lines.

The Council has also moved to quell any suggestions of irregularity in its application of regulations and has explained its position in a statement responding to the ruling and confirming the actions it will be taking.

The full statement follows:

"We’d like to set the record straight regarding the bus lane on Tavistock Road and the reasons why we’ve temporarily suspended camera enforcement there.

"The road markings and signage that are in place on this bus lane are completely in line with Department for Transport regulations and were externally audited before we started enforcement.

"The changes we are making are not to correct markings, but to reduce the gap in the bus lane where traffic turns into the car wash (which used to be a petrol station).

"We’re doing this because one of the adjudicators for the Traffic Penalty Tribunal (TPT) feels the gap doesn’t need to be as long for traffic turning into the car wash as it did for traffic queuing for the petrol station.

"His view doesn’t appear to be shared by any of the other TPT adjudicators considering appeals against fines issued on Tavistock Road, who have all been satisfied with the arrangements in place.

"However, we are always willing to consider ways of making bus lane restrictions clearer and if there is a chance that the length of the gap may be confusing to motorists then we are happy to shorten it.

"We suspended enforcement on the day we received this adjudicator’s findings (3 May), so we cannot see how this decision could be ‘long overdue’. We have not issued any fines since then and won’t issue any more fines on this stretch of road until the work is complete. However, we would like to remind motorists that driving in bus lanes is an offence, whether cameras are used to enforce them or not.

"As a wider measure to help motorists (not linked to this case and not a legal requirement), we are also planning to apply red surfacing on the bus lanes where bus operators report the most abuse.

"Camera enforcement was not introduced to generate cash but to deter motorists from straying into bus lanes and gates, improve journey times and – most importantly – make Plymouth’s roads safer for everyone.

"Before starting bus lane enforcement we ran a long advertising campaign and promoted the camera locations extensively. The number of fines has fallen steadily since the cameras were introduced and fewer than 0.1 per cent of all drivers – that’s 1 in every 1,000 – now fall foul of the regulations.

"Nearly all drivers understand and comply with the restrictions, but we hope these improvements will make the city’s bus lanes even clearer to the remaining minority who break the rules."