Renault Clio - Bus lane incident - malct

Picked up a reg car on Friday in Bolton after traveling from Cumbrian. Set off from the garage to take the wife shopping in Bolton since it was our first time in the town and didn't know our way around, it was pouring with rain, so visability was not good and noticed that I had entered a bus and taxi lane only after noticing white markings on the road , by this time it was to late to do anything about it, the bus lane was not the standard bus lanes that you get, normal coloured. Black tar Mac and white road markings that was hard to see due to the surface rain.

By the point that i had entered the one way bus taxi only route, it was to late to do anything about it, if i reversed, i would be reversing back out of a one way street onto other traffic, so i decided to carry on driving on the bus taxi lane.

I can't denine that i entered the bus lane, this was due to not knowing where i was and poor visability, so my issue is this, i had just signed for the car 10 minutes earlier and taxed the car at the dealership, will the fine come to me or the dealership?

I am tempted to phone Bolton council and asked if my car was picked up on the CCTV camera and telling them that i am the owner, informing Renault of a possible bus lane fine, or sit and wait until someone contacts me, my dear is that the fine will end up with Renault sitting in a file somewhere and the fine will increase with time. Any advice on the law on this, i believe that the fine will be £60 and reduced to £30 if paid within 14 days of receiving the fine, the incident took place on entering deansgate.

Renault Clio - Bus lane incident - Palcouk

If you are saying the car was registered it can take about two weeks from the dealer sending docs to DVLA for it to be shown in your name. If you phone the council with your reg details & name depending who you speak to they may say they cannot tell you anything, as their records may show you are not the registered owner.I think you will just have to wait for any letter.

Renault Clio - Bus lane incident - malct

Thank you for your reply, it's a tricky situation really, i just want the matter sorted out, the fine paid if i have to, i guess i could always tell the council to make a note of the incident or send a letter in, but at the moment, i cant find any information on Bolton's council website who deals with bus lane finds, unless it's a private company who monitors the CCTV and issues tickets

Renault Clio - Bus lane incident - Bromptonaut

@malct

Don't wory about it. Looks as if Bolton is one of the councils which does 'civil enforcement' of its bus lanes. If your infringement was during the bus lane's operative hours and the cameras caught you then a ticket will follow in the post. You will then have time to pay at discouinted rate.

If the fine goes to the previous owner or supplying dealer (did you say it was pre-reg?) then they will have to deal with it by making a defence that they were no longer owner. At which point Council can re-issue to you.

No drama, no criminal issue and unless you mess them around ignoring ticket no credit reference issues.

Renault Clio - Bus lane incident - malct

That you for your replyBromptonaut .

Yes the car was a Pre Reg and i am about to change the Reg Number to a private number that i have on retension, So that may also cause confusion, Maybe the best way is to act like i know nothing about it and see what happens, Reading another thread regarding a member driving an ambulance, His fine was doing the rounds in a hospital while the fine was increasing and thats what i am fearing.So basically, If the fine does go to the wrong person, .i.e the dealership, Then they will deal with it, But at that point, I have thought about contacting the dealership, telling them that if they do get a fine, then i would be happy to pay it Via the dealership saving time and hassle with the dealership paying the fine after i have paid them the £30.

Renault Clio - Bus lane incident - Bromptonaut

The owner is liable. There is a presumption that owner and registered keeper are same but that presumption can be rebutted by, for example, proof of sale.

www.trafficpenaltytribunal.gov.uk/owner-liability/

No harm in letting the supplying dealer know about possibility and arranging with them for you to pay penalty should one arise. If you have your 'ducks in a row' with them it avoids possibility of them trying to charge you an admin fee (though that's usually an issue with hire cars rather than sales) for dobbing you in to the Council.

The ambulance car case was different. The keeper there was the hospital. The penalty increased becuase they, as keeper, failed to process the paperwork promptly. The driver was probably liable under his contract of employment but had a strong argument that his liability was limited to original penalty, not his fault the hospital's postroom were incompetent.

Unfortunately, like a lot of help requests here, the thread went quiet without thanks or follow up.

Renault Clio - Bus lane incident - malct

Just been on the phone to the dealership, they say that this is very common issue and that all fines are sent back to the issuing department with the new keeper's details and then the new fine sent out, So its a waiting game, The Dealership wont accept my £30 and for them to pay the fine, But told me that they might infoprm me of the pending fine if it comes.

Thank you again for your help in this.

Malc

Renault Clio - Bus lane incident - galileo

Malc, for your information it is common in West Yorkshire for bus lanes to only be marked by white lines, I think red surfacing is the way London do it.

Google street view shows blue 'bus lane ' signs with a camera logo so it looks as if the bus lanes apply 24/7. Some of our local ones are peak time only, Monday to Friday, nine out of ten car drivers either can't read or understand the timing notices or just don't see them so all follow each other along the other lane.

Renault Clio - Bus lane incident - concrete

As pointed out, the paper trail will start with what information they have on the vehicle. If the dealer then fills out the section informing them of your purchase then they will issue another NIP to you. At this point you either mount a defence or pay up. Don't look for any understanding from the council. This happended to me in Sheffield, following my sat-nav into a newly altered traffic system. As a stranger I wrote explaining the poor weather conditions, the recently altered junction etc, all to no avail. They sent back a snotty letter about observing road signs and demanding payment. So expect to pay if you infringed the rules. It may be worth checking if the bus lane is in an enforcement zone. The council website should provide this information. Good luck.

Concrete

Renault Clio - Bus lane incident - malct

Thank you for your reply. No word yet, but i am expecting the fine, I just want to pay the fine and move on, Pointless trying to fight it, No mersey with the enforcement officers,

Renault Clio - Bus lane incident - Avant

"No mersey with the enforcement officers,."

There are some lovely typos about this evening! Would you really be better off if the officers were all Scousers?

Renault Clio - Bus lane incident - malct

Sorry about the typo, not to bad considering that I am dyslexic

Renault Clio - Bus lane incident - Avant

No worries. We normally don't comment on errors / typos etc (we all make them) but I couldn't resist that one!

Renault Clio - Bus lane incident - malct

Still no word on getting a fine, Checked with the dealership today, They have not heard anything, But found out that the car was registared at Liverpool Renault and not Bolton, I have asked bolton to check with Liverpool yesterday.

I am not sure how long the council have to issue a fine, I know for speeding its 2 weeks, but i read that bus lane fines are longer.

I have today changed number plates to my own plate, so that may cause issues the next time they try and get info on the old plate.

like people on the forum says, Its up to Renault to inform the council of the new owner of the car and then its up to the coucil to issue the fine to me.

its the not knowing part that gets to me.

Renault Clio - Bus lane incident - HGV ~ P Valentine

I would go to dealer and explain, offer to pay if it cones up, and leave a mobile and landline number.

Renault Clio - Bus lane incident - malct

Just to update you, when I received the V5, I found out that the car was registered to Renault Liverpool and not Bolton where I bought the car from, I informed Bolton regarding this who notified Liverpool of the possibility of a bus lane fine. It's now about 6 weeks since the incident and I have not heard anything, so I would have thought that I would have heard before now.

Renault Clio - Bus lane incident - concrete

I think you are fairly safe now. It doesn't take long to track down the last registered keeper and start the paperchase. I would think they are out of time now if they haven't started yet. Cheers Concrete