'Consent law' clears clamped driver
Discussion
'Consent law' clears clamped driver
Mr Cartner removed the clamps with a crow bar
A driver who ripped wheelclamps from his car escaped conviction - because he thought he knew the car park's owner.
Peter Cartner, from Middleton, Greater Manchester, left his car at a pub despite seeing warning signs about clamping.
When he returned, he found his vehicle had been immobilised and decided to remove the clamps with a crow bar.
And he successfully used a legal loophole to deny a charge of criminal damage - because he claimed he had not consented to the risk of being clamped.
Mr Cartner, 56, was charged after he removed clamps from his car outside a pub car in West Yorkshire last October.
Magistrates in Bradford heard that Mr Cartner, of Middleton, was involved in the incident outside the Black Bull pub in Haworth, on 13 October, 2002.
I did not think I was at risk and that means in law I did not give my consent to being clamped
Peter Cartner
Mr Cartner told magistrates although he saw warning signs he did not think he would be clamped as he knew the landlord.
He told BBC News Online: "I did not think I was at risk and that means in law I did not give my consent to being clamped."
He said it was only after being clamped that he found out the landlord he knew had left the pub.
In preparing to defend himself in court, Mr Cartner found a case from 1998 in which a driver used the "consent" ruling to win an appeal.
'Isolated case'
"The case confirmed that for a driver to be clamped legally, the driver has a right to 'self-help', which means they have a say in whether the act should be carried out," said Mr Cartner.
A spokesman for the Security Industries Authority - which is currently working with the Home Office to tighten up laws on wheelclamping - said he had not heard of the law.
He said: "It does appear this was an isolated case though, since the issue was argued on whether this man knew the pub landlord or not."
Mr Cartner removed the clamps with a crow bar
A driver who ripped wheelclamps from his car escaped conviction - because he thought he knew the car park's owner.
Peter Cartner, from Middleton, Greater Manchester, left his car at a pub despite seeing warning signs about clamping.
When he returned, he found his vehicle had been immobilised and decided to remove the clamps with a crow bar.
And he successfully used a legal loophole to deny a charge of criminal damage - because he claimed he had not consented to the risk of being clamped.
Mr Cartner, 56, was charged after he removed clamps from his car outside a pub car in West Yorkshire last October.
Magistrates in Bradford heard that Mr Cartner, of Middleton, was involved in the incident outside the Black Bull pub in Haworth, on 13 October, 2002.
I did not think I was at risk and that means in law I did not give my consent to being clamped
Peter Cartner
Mr Cartner told magistrates although he saw warning signs he did not think he would be clamped as he knew the landlord.
He told BBC News Online: "I did not think I was at risk and that means in law I did not give my consent to being clamped."
He said it was only after being clamped that he found out the landlord he knew had left the pub.
In preparing to defend himself in court, Mr Cartner found a case from 1998 in which a driver used the "consent" ruling to win an appeal.
'Isolated case'
"The case confirmed that for a driver to be clamped legally, the driver has a right to 'self-help', which means they have a say in whether the act should be carried out," said Mr Cartner.
A spokesman for the Security Industries Authority - which is currently working with the Home Office to tighten up laws on wheelclamping - said he had not heard of the law.
He said: "It does appear this was an isolated case though, since the issue was argued on whether this man knew the pub landlord or not."
Gassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff