After a week end of partying outside of town, to my surprise and discust I found a PCN on my bike!
I always park on the pavement outside my house and keep the bike covered however upon my return the cover was half off and the ticket placed. I was under the impression that wardens couldn’t touch the cover and therefore in the past have been unable to to place a ticket. Do you think I have a case for having the charge overruled?
I was told (by a traffic warden, no less!) that the wardens are advised by their superiors against removing covers or touching vehicles other than to place the ticket on it. They are only advised though, it’s not a legal thing. This is because in the 80s / 90s motorists were threatening to sue them for damagaing their cars when they tampered with the wipers to put the tickets on the car. Probably why they use sticky tickets now…
Like I said, heard it from a traffic warden (after I asked him why he was taling the cover off my number plate!).
Apparently the law was changed in March, so parking attendants (those employed by the council) can now remove covers. I think they quoted terrorism as a reason.
Before that, they would remove any ‘offending’ plastic bags etc and then claim it had blown off in the wind.
So, you’d best find another loophole! Was the bike on a private property by any chance? I.e., where does the house boundary end? If your cover’s been ripped, perhaps this happened during the removal process, so if they cancel the PCN, you’ll be willing to overlook this damage to your property.
Apparently, not all councils give resident’s permits to bikes, quoting the fact that so many of them were stolen when they last operated such a scheme. Unfortunately, this then means you have to park in a bike bay; good luck in finding an empty one!
I might be the person to speak to on this matter, now local council parking attendents can not touch the cover or car in that matter. If you have a witness that they removed it then pcn will be void, so i would appeal against it A.S.P. But remeber that footways are for pedestrians not bikes im afraid, as i know when i was on crutches for a while its hard walking on the road with cars going past !!
I make efforts to conceal my tax disc… in order to write a ticket they need the serial number from a tax disc, they do this to confirm they deffinitly ticketed your vehicle and not just made up a reg number.
Now local councils can clamp/fine you for not displaying a tax disc, but it is not a police matter, (police will show interest as it often relates to a no insurance conviction). The police will report it to DVLA who in turn will check you have tax and close the file.
I have a tax disc holder on my chain guard, but I often turn it around (disc facing the wheel). that way if someone really needs to read the serial number, they have to remove a bolt, and wardens aren’t likely to carry a honda tool kit.
My car also makes it difficult to receive a ticket, the serial number from my previous tax disc stayed on the screen of the holder, and the new disc serial number is obsured by the old one. I then placed the tax disc over the windsreen’s trade/safety markings, making it near impossible to get the serial.
Even if they do ticket it I can get them over turned if I believe they did not get the correct serial number of my tax. as they do not have proof they saw my vehicle. or even put a ticket on it.
As far as can they remove covers or not, I think its down to the local authority, and I would ask them for their policy directly rather than hazarding a guess.
Think I’d check the house boundary, then if the ticket’s fair, appeal anyway.
I appealled in the summer against a ticket I believed was incorrect, and it’s still being processed. If they decide it’s fair, I’ll get the 14 days again and pay the £40 then. Make the buggers work mate. They may lose the ticket etc…
But I’d forget the ‘did they move the cover’ lark. Sounds like a waste of time without proof.
I’ve just spotted this on the web, and thought it might be useful!
I got a ticket from Ealing council earlier this year and appealed it, after about 3 months they got back to me and said that they would not be proceedeing any further with it due to a problem when the ticket was issued.
Hope it helps.
I have just been with my sister who is a wheelchair user and was talking about this. People parked on the pavement can make it impossible for her to get past at all.
It is something we really shouldn’t do. I know there are places where you can and not obstruct the pavement but do look and think before doing it.
I hope that any one posting here would be savvy enough to aprk thier vehicle in such a place and such a way that it does not impinge on any one using the pavement.
I don’t think that this was the case here and would venture that we are all having a good moan about being local governments latest cash cow.
Hi Bikers,
