A motorist has won a David vs Goliath style battle with a council over a bus lane fine – after he argued he did not see street warnings due to roadworks and bad signage.
Martyn Barber, 35, had thought little of his trip with a friend to Swindon after they had gone there on the Sunday morning on August 13.
So he was stunned when a letter arrived at his home in Wiltshire telling him he had been fined £70 for driving through a bus line in the town.
He looked at the CCTV proof before cross checking it on Google Streetview and immediately realised he could never have seen the signs.
One had been obscured by a barrier, another was swamped in a myriad of other notices and the warning painted on the road blocked by roadworks.
After contacting the authorities to notify them he was going to appeal, he went toe to toe with Swindon Borough Council this week.
And following his evidence to the tribunal he won the case, in a ruling that has implications for others that may have also been fined.
Mr Barber, who works at a different council, told MailOnline: ‘When I looked at the CCTV image, I thought ‘there you go – that’s how I have missed it’.
Martyn Barber, 35, was hit with a fine after accidentally going down a bus only street route
But evidence from CCTV gave Mr Barber all the tools he needed to triumph at the appeal case
The view today is even more confusing with tarmac now obscuring the letters on the road
‘The roadworks block the lettering on the road so I could never have seen that.
‘I didn’t see the two signs on lampposts either, one must have been blocked and the the other obscured.
‘I have never had a penalty notice or anything like that – I do not think this one was fair at all.’
Mr Barber went online to seek advice from forums of experts and other motorists.
All of them advised him to just pay up and insisted he had little chance of success in challenging the council.
The scene that Mr Barber experienced when he was driving two months ago in Swindon
The scene today is little better with tarmac now doing no favours for motorists in the town
But affronted at the lack of justice in his fine, he decided to proceed and go to appeal.
They convened on Monday on a Teams call where he gave his side of the story and the council put forward its views.
The local authority insisted ‘The signage is sufficient to alert all motorists that it is a bus gate’.
But after hearing Mr Barber’s account, the tribunal chair sided with him and threw the fine out.
They ruled: ‘Because the right-hand sign was not visible, because of the barrier obscuring the legend, because the left-hand sign was placed against the wall with other signs to the immediate rear and the absence of advance warning of where the bus only route was located, I find that the overall signing scheme was not adequate and failed to reasonably convey the restriction.
Mr Barber thinks other drivers hit by fines under the same circumstances could now appeal
A large purple bus today using the lane to get to its destination in the town of Swindon
‘For that reason, I find the council has failed to prove the contravention.’
Mr Barber was no longer required to pay the fine.
He added: ‘The whole thing has been quite stressful, but people need their money at the moment.
‘I haven’t received an apology or anything like that.
‘The fact the fine failed because of the bad signage is something that others might want to look at if they have received a penalty charge.
‘I wouldn’t have minded paying it if I had been in the wrong, but I was not.’
A Swindon Borough Council spokesman said: ‘Although the appeal adjudicator ruled in favour of Mr Barber the fact remains that he illegally drove through a bus gate.
‘It is unfortunate that roadworks taking place in the street concerned obscured one of the warning signs as this clearly had a bearing on the appeal decision. All our signs are placed in accordance with traffic sign regulations, but we will certainly take on board the adjudicator’s feedback as we constantly review our signage to ensure it is clear and obvious to motorists.
‘This bus gate is not in place to trap people, it is there to help public transport work efficiently in this area. Any drivers who wish to challenge fines that have been issued can use the well-established and independent appeals process, just as Mr Barber did.’
