Parking fee - can I contest by any chance?

Stupid question here, but… you never know! :crying:

I went to pick up my girlfriend and I stopped in a red route bay in a time slot when I clearly wasn’t supposed to stop. (6pm)
I stayed there for max 5 minutes, straight and closed to the pavement, on the bike, except for the time to take my second helmet from the top box and give it to her.

Does this include a short stay on the bike?

I’m ok to pay this because I’m aware it’s my mistake bla bla bla… but let’s be honest, would you not feel… mmm… let’s say a bit… BUM F****D???
I mean, picking up my gf costed me £70 (+ fuel, wear and precious time).
I should have stayed home basically!!! :crazy:

“i’m kidding babe, you know I love ya!” :Wow:

Well…technically, you could argue that you were unloading your safety helmet from your bike to your GF.

As long as you were not there for more than 20 minutes, it appears on the face of it that this is acceptable.

Whether you can actually get away with that one, well that is another matter, but the rules state that you can stop and unload for 20 minutes at a time. What constitutes “unloading” is anyone’s guess.

No - unloading is permitted 8am-4pm only & then for 20 mins max.
Slug stopped at 6pm. To prove you are unloading you would also need to produce documentation such as a delivery note. Caught bang to rights im afraid.
Next time, park it ass to the kerb & make a quick getaway using another vehicle as cover. The CCTV wont be able to zoom in :wink:

I don’t think you’ll get anywhere with the ‘I was loading’ argument. First up, you said you stopped at 6pm, loading time finished at 4pm. Then to prove you were loading you generally need a paper trail to show you were dropping off/picking up a pre-arranged item. Not something you’ve just bought and not human cargo either! If you want to contest it, expect a long fight.

I got done (in car) in Romford for using a loading bay. They obverved me in their spy smart car for 2 minutes, didn’t see any activity of loading, so charged me! Yep, for a grand total of 120 seconds I wasn’t removing cargo from the car, so busted! There’s no official rules stipulating time, just some vague guidance, so really up to council to make up whatever bullshit they like to fill their coffers now the Torries have cut all their funds.

IIWY, take it on the chin, pay up before they double the fine, shake your fist, get slightly more bitter and don’t do it again.

Well spotted missed that :smiley:

Do what I did when I unloaded my girlfriend out of hours, make her pay half the fine. :smiley:

Thanks chaps.
I didn’t think about the loading thing because anyway it’s not permitted at the time I stayed…
… I thought about the fact that I stayed on the bike and didn’t technically parked it…

anyway… whatever!!! I wish they’ll spend my money on pain killers!!! :stuck_out_tongue:

HA!!! :smiley:

That sounds pretty fair for the par conditio.

You could always drop a post in forums.pepipoo.com… see what they think, it’s kind of their specialty…

We get parking tickets all the time at work. Usually several thousand pounds worth a month in total. We (the drivers) dont pay as our “customers” are aware that there isnt any other way for them to receive their goods.
Its interesting to see how & why we get caught though. Ie the reasons/explanations the council give.
The most outrageous was when we used to drive up Wilton Rd near Victoria station. One of our drivers slowed down to read the sign for unloading times and the council claimed he had stopped!
I think they accepted our appeal.

Double red means no STOPPING. Regardless if youre in/on the vehicle.

That make sense unfortunately :crying:
Thanks!!!

So what would happen if you broke down?

Just a thought!

Tough luck. They want their pound of flesh regardless. Though like this article says, if you call out the breakdown services straight away, you might be able to wangle out of paying the fine… http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/2828101/Broken-down-on-a-red-route-Get-ready-to-fight-a-fine.html

Ho well they get there money how ever

Welcome to the jungle, the lions win! Not the little animals.

Why would you “break down” when you were picking up your girlfriend?

It`s like suggesting you might crash your light aeroplane while picking up your spanner.

You could try to challenge them on the use of a hyphen instead of an en-dash…for a laugh…

8am hyphen 7pm could mean ‘8am and 7pm’.

Whereas, strictly speaking they would need to use the slightly longer en-dash (although it doesn’t even appear on a qwerty keyboard) to mean ‘between 8am and 7pm’

…it is a long shot…:slight_smile:

Fuuck man I fuucking hate parking fines…

You can contest it, they’ll refuse, you can then take it to PATAS and they’ll provide an independent judgement, you could get the fine dropped…

They ALWAYS go by the rules though. At NO POINT can common sense or basic understanding or sympathy can come into play…

Motorcycles are not goods vehicles therefore cannot ‘unload’ as such… But you could argue that you weren’t really stopping, you just pulled over to allow someone to mount your bike. So say you weren’t ‘stopping’ or ‘parking’ … Just simply picking up a passenger.

Or maybe your bike was overheating and you had to stop in the interest of safety. Maybe your fuel was cutting out so you had to stop and switch to your reserve tank. Maybe you have a medical condition where you have to take medication at specific daily intervals so you had to stop and take your meds.

Anyhow don’t just roll over and pay up, that’s my personal opinion, I don’t think that using a certain section of road that is separated by the rest of the road by a bit of paint, or stopping for a moment at the kerb where some huge vehicles are allowed to safely stop but a tiny motorcycle can’t, should be punishable by an extortionate fine. Especially whilst we’re in a recession with petrol and travel costs rising exponentially far beyond most people’s wages. A lot of people don’t even earn £70 in a whole day.

You’ll always get the people who will say ‘bang to rights, don’t do the crime if you can’t pay the fine’ etc etc… Just ignore those people. Whichever way you look at it the fine is never proportionate to the offence. Say it example you committed a serious traffic law violation, such as speeding past a school or running a red light, carries a lower fine at £60.

Good luck with the appeal slug.

Just for the record

Loading and unloading is just that and includes anything from a scheduled fully documented delivery through to delivering or posting a letter as well as picking up and dropping off passengers.

That serious traffic violation that attracts a £60 FPN will now cost you £100

Oh yeah it’s gone up hasnt it… Forgot about that!

So loading/unloading applies to motorcycles? I was under the impression, from what I’ve been told by traffic wardens, that loading/unloading can only be ‘done’ by goods vehicles… :ermm:

Applies to all road going vehicles including bicycles and prams but probably not roller blades and skateboards.

Check out what Royal Mail vans get away with in the name of loading and unloading :wink: