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SIGNS LOOK GOOD TO AVOID A TICKET
When Colin Wright was prosecuted for speeding on the Nottingham ring road he was sure there had been a mistake.
The mobile speed camera patrol claimed he was riding his motorcycle over the 40mph limit.
He was prepared to fight the charge and maintain he was within the legal speed. But in the end it did not matter - because the traffic signs were wrong.
His solicitor, Clive Burton, commissioned national traffic signs expert Richard Bentley to investigate. Mr Burton said: "The whole speeding regime on that road is not valid, because if you come out of a side street and you can't see a speed limit sign then the speed is not valid. "And that even applies for people travelling along the road because you can't have it valid for one and not others."
The law also states that where a 40mph traffic order is put in place it removes the relevance of the standard 30mph limit on street-lit roads.
Case law says that two speed limits cannot be applied to the same piece of road - so if one fails you cannot revert to the other.
Effectively this means there is no speed limit on the A6514 ring road which can be enforced by law.
Mr Wright's charge was dropped after Mr Burton handed in Mr Bentley's detailed report on the issue to the Crown Prosecution Service in August.
Mr Wright, 40, of Wollaton, said a conviction for speeding and penalty points could have affected his job as a project manager for a building consultancy, as he has to drive up to 700 miles a week.
"If they get the signs right in the first place they can expect to get correct enforcement but if they are wrong it causes confusion and people get convicted for no good reason," he said.
Mr Bentley, a traffic signs consultant who is on the UK register of expert witnesses, has prepared several reports for the courts and the Adjudication Service for cases involving Nottingham people.
And he said the city was littered with incorrect signs - and thousands of people could have been convicted or fined without committing an offence.
Between April 2006 and March 2007, a total of 23,785 fines were issued for speeding on the county's ten busiest roads.
These included the A610 near Nuthall Island, but not the A6514.
Mr Bentley is currently involved in preparing evidence for a High Court appeal involving signs on the A610.
There is a 40mph sign on Nuthall Road before the Western Boulevard junction.
But after the junction a 30mph speed limit is enforced with cameras.
According to the law, this can only be enforced when there are two 30mph signs either side of the road within 20 yards after the junction.
But the motorist appealing in the High Court is arguing there was only one sign, 75 yards after the junction.
If upheld, this could mean thousands of people could claim fines back and have their points withdrawn.
On the A614 Ollerton Road there are stretches where signs tell drivers they can travel at the national speed limit - which is 60mph on single carriageway roads.
But the law states that single carriageways illuminated by street lighting should be restricted to 30mph.
Mr Bentley said: "By doing this the highway authorities have devalued the legal position of street lighting as an indicator of a set limit of speed and are confusing motorists.
"The authorities are choosing to ignore the law and, by ignoring Parliament and the Secretary of State for Transport, they bring the laws into disrepute.
"There is little wonder drivers are seeking to challenge speed enforcement."
Numerous roads in Nottingham have 30mph speed signs that were supposed to be decommissioned in 1972.
They are the ones with a flat edge on the top of the figure three in the 30, which the then Secretary of State said had to be replaced with a fully curved three.
Examples can be seen off the A6514 Western Boulevard, in Haslemere Road, Holbeck Road and Western Gardens, but Mr Bentley said he believed they were still scattered across Nottingham.
Also on the ring road, before the junction with Harrow Road, there is a "no left turn sign," with a small sign underneath saying "except for cycles."
However, Harrow Road is a one-way street and the junction also has "No entry" signs which apply to all vehicles - including cycles.
It means the first sign is effectively telling cyclists to break the law by riding up a one-way street. The "except for cycles" is also unlawful because it is not a prescribed sign.
Mr Bentley said: "Most local authorities are arrogant enough to ignore the law. Nottingham has ignored the situation - they have had my reports since 2004.
Mr Bentley said the law on traffic signs was not flexible - they must match the precise description in the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions - or else they cannot be enforced.
Something as simple as using capital letters when the law says use lower case letters can invalidate the signs.
Mr Bentley said all highway authorities are aware of the law and they are leaving themselves open to challenge by motorists if they deviate from it.
"It's not rocket science. Either signs are exactly the same as the pictures in the book or no offence has been committed," said Mr Bentley.
"By not having the right signs people are losing their jobs, their homes and their marriages, when an Act of Parliament prohibits them from having a conviction if the signing is wrong.
"The council and police are aware of it and are carrying on regardless.
"They are saying the ends justify the means so morally they are doing the right thing.
"But who is acting immorally here - the local authorities that know they are breaking the law and causing a driver to be convicted when it is prohibited, or the driver who would not know the speed limit because the signing isn't there or wrong? There is no such thing as a moral offence, nor should you accept being convicted or penalised for breaking the spirit of the law."
Mr Bentley thinks highways and camera partnership chiefs are continuing to believe the law is open to interpretation.
This is because despite being told by the former head of traffic management for the Department for Transport Brian Lyus how to correctly position signs on the junction of the A610, B690 and A6514, they questioned his reasons.
A city council spokesman said: "We review road signage on a regular basis but would obviously look at any particular signs drawn to our attention and consider if any amendments are needed.
"Minor discrepancies on traffic signs should not and will not detract from the appropriate action being taken against any motorists who break the law."
A Notts Police spokesman said: "Notts Police will continue to proactively enforce all aspects of road traffic legislation, whether covered by traffic signs or not.
"Motorists who break the law will be dealt with in the appropriate fashion and we will see any individual who wishes to contest that punishment in court.
"Should any road signs be identified to us as not being in accordance with correct legislation, we will work closely with the relevant agencies to ensure those signs are replaced at the earliest opportunity."
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