Maldon Road bus lane fine overturned for Braintree driver

Ian Clark was given a fine by Essex County Council for driving along the bus lane on Maldon Road, in Colchester, in January.

Cars have been banned from driving down the northbound section of Maldon Road for years.

Council enforcement was later added in 2020.

Cars are banned from driving down the northbound section of Maldon Road (Image: Stuart Johnson)

Mr Clark, a biochemical engineer from Braintree, was handed a £35 penalty, however, took it to an appeal after believing the signage was not fit for purpose.

He said: “I remember driving past it and wondering what it says, before realising I was in a bus lane and that it was too late.

“I genuinely couldn’t read the signage on a dark rainy night, so I looked up the regulations and didn’t agree.

“The fine came through a few days later, and I paid the £35 but also appealed the decision, to which the council refused.

“I have never even had a parking ticket and almost felt this was a slur on my character.”

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Mr Clark then took the decision to a tribunal where the fine was overturned.

The 58-year-old said: “When I took it a tribunal, the council said they would increase the penalty back to £70, even though I had already paid £35.

“I thought it was quite a coercive policy to try and make me stop going to tribunal, threatening me with more money.

“When it went to tribunal, they ruled the traffic signage doesn’t meet regulations.”

The County Hall in Chelmsford (Image: N/A)

Now, Mr Clark, who also received his £35 back, has raised concerns other drivers may have been caught in the same area.

He said: “This has been in place for years.

“How many have already been fined, and I wonder if anything been done about it since the tribunal.”

An Essex Highways spokesperson said: “Each appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal is based on its own merits.”