Driver slams council for missing road sign
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By Chris Druce AN LGV driver has accused a London council of disregarding the haulage industry after he was slapped with a penalty charge notice when he drove into a bus lane around a width restriction.
John Norris was fined after making a collection from Bakkavor Pizza in Harrow, north-west London. Norris, who was heading for Sainsbury's London Colney, selected what he believed to be an appropriate route to the A41. However, it was only after he had entered Taunton Way, leading to Camrose Avenue from the roundabout at Streatfield Road, that he encountered the width restriction warning.
After being fined, he searched Google Street View (above left) and found there was a warning sign at the roundabout in 2008. However, the sign is now absent (right).
At a Parking and Traffic Appeals Service hearing in December, an adjudicator agreed that the absence of a signpost at the roundabout meant "it was too late" to alter course. But an appeal was not allowed because although performing a U-turn in a 40-tonne articulated lorry would have been "difficult", it wouldn't have been impossible. Harrow Council said: "The road signs in place exceed the legal requirements." A spokeswoman, who could not explain where the missing sign had gone, added Norris should have turned down a side road instead.