news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/8262904.stm
More than 18,000 fines handed to motorists caught driving in bus lanes in Manchester were illegal, the local authority has admitted.
The drivers were all caught out by cameras between October 2006 and May 2007 - before they were approved for use in bus lanes.
Manchester City Council believed the cameras could be retrospectively certified - but lawyers ruled it out.
It could now face a payout of more than £544,000 to drivers who were caught.
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should imagine Manchester's council tax will be going up then
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So these drivers didn't break the motoring law by driving in a bus lane, then?
I think they did, and each one that applies for a refund reveals himself to be a liar, which is worse.
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I think they did and each one that applies for a refund reveals himself to be a liar which is worse.
They might admit to breaking the law, but they might argue that the fine was inappropriate.
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It's the confusion of fact and evidence that annoys me.
Transgression of a bus lane is a fixed penalty, which the drivers could well have known about.
Those that did not, could have researched it before transgressing, or just accept the risk of finding out the penalty after the fact.
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Perhaps the drivers in question should only be able to claim back a percentage of the fine based on how many vehicles they undertook in the 'normal' lane and how many buses they got in the way of.
EDIT: just a thought rather than a practical proposition
Edited by Focus {P} on 18/09/2009 at 16:38
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"So these drivers didn't break the motoring law by driving in a bus lane, then?"
I am not aware of such an Act as the motoring law.
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...I am not aware of such an Act as the motoring law...
Hamsafar,
"motoring law" - note lower case (that's little to you) 'm' and 'l'.
A simple, general term for whatever rules, regulations, laws apply to a particular situation.
If you still don't get it, drive up and down a bus lane a few times and then wait for the postman.
Fill the form he gives you correctly, and you will have the chance to make your facetious remarks to a magistrate.
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Regardless of if they broke a law or not, as motorists we now have to be whiter then white, it seems all minor transgressions can be caught on camera and then the motorist fined.
Well, if we have to be whiter then white then so should those who are making the prosecutions! And in this case they are not.
Wait a few weeks for a post I will make about Truvelo cameras, cant make it at the moment as I am still in the middle of a court case, but once I either win or loose I will post up something that could cause doubt in a large number of convictions!!! (but may only be relevant to my local Safer Roads Partnership!)
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Wait a few weeks for a post I will make about Truvelo cameras cant make it at the moment as I am still in the middle of a court case but once I either win or loose I will post up something that could cause doubt in a large number of convictions!!! (but may only be relevant to my local Safer Roads Partnership!)
sounds interesting...do keep us informed...even if it doesn't go your way
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Believe me, when I can I will be shouting very loudly about it - have spent the last 18 months dealing with it!!!!
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all minor transgressions
So driving down a lane that you shouldn't is a "minor" transgression... yes I suppose it is compared with driving at 100mph through a housing estate... and the penalties reflect that... both are breaking the law for pete's sake... so why can't people just accept they've done something wrong and accept the penalty instead of complaining about how they were caught and trying to wriggle out of it when they know they've done wrong?!
(Oh, and I see this morning the site hasn't crashed my computer like the last two days!! - what on earth is going on?)
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Many of them are "Minor" - there are lots of cases of people avoiding cars turning right, so entering the bus lane for a few feet to ensure the traffic flow keeps moving - then getting a letter in the post and a fine! If it had been a copper sat there in his car watching they would no doubt have used their discretion, seen why it was used and that traffic flow was eased by it's use.
Cameras are not able to make that distinction, and the operators seem never to apply common sense.
All cameras should be scrapped and then people might actually start having some respect for the law again!
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........... there are lots of cases of people avoiding cars turning right so entering the bus lane ..........
Lots?
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Yep, lots, I am quite sure you can use Google as well as I can, and I am sure I do not need to list or exactly quantify them!
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in my opinion, based on what my own eyes have seen, I would say MOST transgressions are due to avoiding other vehicles in one way or another.
Yes you will always get the idiot who thinks laws/rules dont apply to them, and they are the ones that need to be caught and fined HEAVILY!
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