Proposed Civil Enforcement of Bus Lanes and Moving Traffic – Response from The AA

Dear News Editor

Carmarthenshire County Council has consulted on its plans to enforce bus lane and other moving traffic offences. The consultation letter is attached.

We are grateful for the opportunity to comment but, from the experience of other councils’ use of enforcement powers, the AA has big concerns.

These are detailed in the response below.

Let me know if you want to see the correspondence between the AA and Chris Grayling, the Secretary of State for Transport, regarding bus lane and moving traffic announcement.

In September, the Traffic Penalties Tribunal ruled in favour of scores of motorists ‘diverted’ down a Swansea bus lane*. That mess would have been avoided had first-time warnings been issued instead.

Regards

Luke Bosdet

AA Public Affairs

Mr Stephen G Pilliner

Head of Highways and Transport

Environment Department

Block 1, Parc Myrddin

Richmond Terrace

Carmarthen

Carmarthenshire

SA31 1HQ

25 April 2018

Dear Mr Pilliner

Thank you for your invitation to comment on the proposed civil enforcement of bus lanes and moving traffic conventions in Carmarthenshire.

Although we understand and support your desire “to secure the expeditious movement of traffic on the road network”, it is the experience of many AA members that enforcement is not always solely about deterring bad driving behaviour.

Over the past year, we have seen bus lane cameras on some routes producing PCNs by the thousands month after month, without any effort by councils to try to find out and rectify the causes of such largescale lack of compliance. In Newcastle, when the Traffic Penalties Tribunal adjudicator visited the John Dobson Street bus gate, he upheld all but one appeal and said the scheme’s signage was not up to the job. The scheme had resulted in 63,000 PCNs during an eight-month period – yet little attempt to improve it.

In Romford, more than a year after a camera was set up, enforcement of a no-right-turn sign for cars coming out of a DIY store was still issuing 50 to 60 PCNs a day to customers.

With £62.64 for an eight-hour day on the current National Living Wage for a worker aged 25 years or older (£7.83/hr), or £47.20 for an 18 to 20 year old (£5.90/hr), a £70 fine for a mistake, perhaps due to poor signage,  is disproportionate and unfair – even when halved for early payment. We note that a bus lane PCN in Manchester, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Glasgow and other cities in England and Scotland is £60, halved to £30 for early payment.

Why Welsh drivers are deserving of extra punishment for the same offence is something that needs to be explained.

With all that in mind, it begs the question as to what exactly bus lane and moving traffic enforcement aims to achieve. If the rate of offending remains high, it is clear that the “expeditious movement of traffic” is not happening. And if a council is happy to keep issuing PCNs by the thousand and hauling in the fines, without reviewing and rectifying the scheme, the only conclusion we can draw is that the enforcement’s priority is to raise money from fines.

You may be aware that the AA wrote recently to the Secretary of State for Transport, Chris Grayling, regarding bus lane and other traffic enforcement. The AA has called for first-time offenders to be sent warning letters, irrespective of when a bus lane scheme started. This is in line with advice included in the Department for Transport ’s 2008 provisional guidance (universally ignored by the councils). This should be a requirement, not a matter of good practice.

The benefits of this approach are obvious:

• It confirms that enforcement is all about deterring bad behaviour and aiming to achieve compliance.
• It provides common-sense leeway for drivers who genuinely make a mistake or are confused by the signage (we’re not convinced that the obligations of the blue bus lane signs are readily understood by a lot of drivers).
• It ensures that repeat offenders deserve the punishment they get for not complying with rules made clear to them.

The Secretary of State has said the AA’s views ‘merit further consideration’, and has asked his officials to begin a major update to the Department’s guidance on bus lane enforcement. He also appears minded to encourage councils to monitor PCN levels where enforcement takes place. This would reveal ‘hotspots’ where enforcement may be failing to achieve its objective, requiring review and improvement.

We are grateful for the opportunity to comment on traffic enforcement changes that have often been problematic for AA members in other parts of the UK. We appreciate fully that a reliable and unhindered public transport system, combined with a traffic system flowing efficiently, benefits everyone.There is a need for enforcement, backed up by the threat of penalties, to deter rogue and selfish drivers. However, there must be discretion exercised that separates the mistaken and normally law-abiding driver from the chancer.

Yours sincerely

Luke Bosdet

AA Public Affairs