Bristol man has fine for driving in a bus lane overturned – and it means thousands of motorists could win an appeal too
Keith Stevenson, 56, won a tribunal against his local council after being fined for driving in the 'inadequately signed' M32 slip road that's meant for local buses only
THOUSANDS of motorists who have been fined for driving in a bus lane off the M32 could win an appeal, as the slip road has now been slammed as "inadequately signed".
Local resident Keith Stevenson won in a tribunal for driving in the Metrobus lane against Bristol City Council, who have issued a whopping 9,458 fines for the motoring offence in just 100 days.
Of those drivers who were fined from May 29 to September 6, around 6,000 have unfortunately already paid the fine, according to .
The Council has made £186,485 from the slip road in that time - from a combination of the £60 standard penalty that also reduces down to £30 if paid within a fortnight.
That equates to around 95 drivers being caught on the route every day, averaging almost £2,000 in daily fines.
Keith has now set a precedent for fighting the penalty, which he received on August 4 after taking the wrong exit back in June.
The 56-year-old told Bristol Live: "It was an honest mistake. It was heavy traffic and I was pulling a trailer at the time.
"I use the M32 all the time and I know the junction that I need to take so I think my attention must have been distracted by a driver in front of me.
"The new slip road looks like any other junction so I thought it was mine and I came off."
Once on the slip road, the only reasonable way to get back onto the M32 is by using a roundabout that is in the bus-only area.
The other option would be to reverse down the bridge and back onto the M32, which Keith rightly says "would just be utter madness".
Cameras are placed on the roundabout that leads back onto the motorway, and operate on a 24/7 basis.
Keith added: "I think anyone who has already paid their fine should be allowed to appeal, and I think the council should re-mark the slip road so the mini-roundabout does not fall within the bus lane.
"They should put a sign on the bridge, directing drivers towards the ‘amnesty roundabout’, so they know they won’t get a fine for using it."
The tribunal was conducted over telephone, which Bristol City Council chose not to take part in.
The adjudicator ruled in Keith's favour after she labelled the signs as "not adequate" and "a low key approach". She also advised the Council to issue warning letters to drivers in future as opposed to immediate fines.
She added in a letter: "Mr Stevenson was only in the bus lane while he went round the roundabout.
"Indeed, he had passed a sign on the slip road that directed use of the roundabout to get back to the M32.
"This sign invites use of the roundabout, without showing that it lies just inside a bus lane."
A Bristol City Council spokesperson said: "Although the signage for the new M32 bus-only route was agreed by the Department for Transport, we are reviewing it following this judgement and will consider making improvements.
"We will comment further once this process is complete."