Safe Speed Forums

I seem to remember reading somewhere, and it is quite likely to have been this forum, about a case in which parking penalties were invalid, due to the restriction signage being displayed on 'footpath lighting' rather than 'street lighting' poles. I cannot for the life of me find it now though, or anywhere that lists definitively the requirements for signage. Can anyone help me out here please?

The reason I ask is that a friend of mine has received a penalty for stopping in a loading bay in order to pop into the bank. He was there for no longer than 5 minutes, on a saturday morning. The signs denoting that it is a loading bay are displayed on thigh-high wooden bollards, and are difficult to see. I only know they are there as I have lived in the town on and off for 20-plus years!

Neil Herron's site might be helpful:

http://www.parkingappeals.co.uk


Section 18

The Local Authorities' Traffic Orders (Procedure) (England and Wales) Regulations 1996



Traffic signs Regulations & General Directions 2002



Illumination of signs
18. - (1) Subject to paragraph (2), every sign shown in a diagram whose number is indicated in column (2) of an item in Schedule 17 shall be illuminated in the manner and at the times specified in column (3) of that item.

(2) Where a sign shown in a diagram whose number is indicated in column (2) of an item in Schedule 17 is placed for the purpose of conveying to vehicular traffic a warning, information, prohibition, restriction or requirement which applies only at certain times, the sign need only be illuminated, and in the case of the sign shown in diagram 776 shall only be illuminated, in accordance with that Schedule at those times.

(3) Where a sign shown in a diagram whose number is indicated in column (2) of an item in Schedule 17 is illuminated by a means of external lighting, then that means of lighting -



(a) shall be fitted to the sign or the structure on which the sign is mounted or which is otherwise specially provided; or

(b) if the sign is mounted on a bridge, tunnel or similar structure over a road or is provided temporarily at road works, the means of lighting may be mounted in any other manner such as to illuminate the face of the sign effectively.


Illumination of signs - further provisions
19. - (1) Nothing in this regulation shall apply to the signs shown in diagrams 560, 561, 776 and 781.

(2) Subject to the provisions of regulation 18 and paragraph (1), any sign shown in a diagram in Schedules 1 to 5 and 7, Part II of Schedule 10 and Schedule 12 -



(a) when placed in consequence of the execution of road works must, and

(b) in other situations may,


be reflectorised in accordance with the following provisions of this regulation.

(3) Subject to paragraph (4), where retroreflecting material is used on any part of a sign shown in a diagram, all other parts of that sign shall also be reflectorised.

(4) No retroreflecting material shall be applied to -



(a) any part of a sign coloured black;

(b) that part of the sign shown in diagram 7031 which is coloured fluorescent yellow, unless the retroreflecting material is applied to that part in horizontal strips with a gap between each strip, or unless the retroreflecting material is itself also fluorescent;

(c) those parts of the signs shown in diagrams 2505, 2505.1, 2506, 2507, 2508, 2509.1, 2510, 2511, 2512, and 2513 which give information about the availability of parking places when that information is conveyed by means of a legend which is internally illuminated or formed of light-emitting characters,


and in this paragraph the word "part", in relation to a sign, means any part of that sign which is uniformly coloured and bounded by parts of a different colour.

Illumination of plates
20. - (1) Where a plate is placed in combination with a sign shown in a diagram in Schedules 1 to 5 or 12, and that sign is illuminated in accordance with regulation 18, the plate shall, subject to paragraph (2), be illuminated by the same means as the sign.

(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply where the means of lighting provided for the illumination of the sign adequately illuminates the plate.

Illumination of signs shown in diagrams 560 and 561
21. - (1) The signs shown in diagrams 560 and 561 shall not be illuminated by the fitting of a means of internal or external lighting.

(2) A sign shown in a diagram whose number appears in column (2) of an item in the Table and having the dimension specified in column (3) of that item shall be illuminated by either of the methods prescribed by paragraph (3) which are shown in column (4) of the item, and by no other method.

The only place I have heard of footpath lighting vs. street lighting is for30mph speed limits. With street lighting this requires no repeater signs. With only footway lighting it does.

Photos! Photos are good.
They have to get the signs correct, they have to get the lines correct and they have to get the traffic order correct.

Oh and if it is decriminalised parking enforcement then the PCN has to be correct, as does the Notice to Owner and Notice of Rejection (unless they accept your challenge first time... yeah right!).

The TSRGD 2002 (as mentioned by wayneo) has the diagrams in. From memory 1028.3, 1028.4, 1032 or 1033 are the restriction bay lines. Loading bay signs are somewhere around 660. If tolerances aren't mentioned on the diagram then they exist within the document. It's a tad complicated but can be worked out. I think the maximum tolerance for any line is 20%.

I would be surprised if even 5% of the restriction lines & signs around Poole are correct.

_________________
Andrew.

Thanks guys!