Transport for London has demanded a £120 congestion charge penalty from a driver who inadvertently turned into the charging zone to make way for a speeding ambulance.
The original penalty notice of £60 was doubled when the driver chose to contest the charge and failed to cough up within the required 14 days.
The matter eventually went to adjudication, where the driver’s claim for leniency was rejected. According to yesterday’s Observer which reported the incident, the appeal was heard and rejected by the adjudicator who regarded the explanation of the offence ‘as mitigation rather than a situation in which they could use their discretion’.
The Observer reports Transport for London saying that ‘pulling into the kerb is a reasonable manoeuvre to make way for emergency vehicles but pulling into a side street is no excuse for avoiding the congestion charge’.
The unlucky Samaritan must therefore still cough up the original £60 fee (although the double penalty has been revoked). As Mr Bumble would doubtless contend - the law remains an ass!