Lack of logic

The guidance booklet is not a statement of the law

The is set out above. A motorist, let's call them Frank, parks with their blue badge on a one hour single yellow line. Provided that loading is not prohibited, notified by yellow marks across the kerb and a sign plate with times (except when there are two marks together which means 24 hours) a motorist can park for up to 3 hours on a single yellow line. The reason for the clock, or disc as it is properly known, is to enable a passing traffic warden to know when you parked in order to establish if you had been there for more than 3 hours. The clock has no function if the yellow line only operates for a single hour, that is very simple logic.

Along came a traffic warden, keen as anything to issue a PCN and duly did so because the clock, which wasn't needed, was set to the wrong time. That was mistake number 1.

Frank challenged, expecting logic to take over. It didn't and the above is part of the response received. That was mistake number 2 by Barnet Council.

Frank wasn't happy so off to his MP he went. The MP duly passed the query on to Barnet Council and clearly doesn't have much logic themselves, and meekly accepted the council's assurance that the council were correct and Frank was in the wrong. Here is part of the response.

 

A senior officer, one would expect, looks at queries from MPs. Well if they were senior they weren't much cop as they too got it wrong. Ironically the Statutory Instrument they quoted gave the correct answer about the situation. What a pity they didn't read it. Mistake number 3. 

At this point Frank contacted Mr Mustard who thought that the answers were not logical and so he carried out some research to confirm his thinking.

It doesn't help that the booklet you get with your blue badge overstates the law although it is safer to put your clock out every time you park so that you get in the bait and so that a zealously wrong traffic warden doesn't make you one of his victims

 

Mr Mustard wrote to the parking manager and all of a sudden some proper thought was applied to the situation. To save time Mr Mustard sent the manager the relevant section of the statutory instrument

To precis for you the above regulations say that you don't need a parking clock for restrictions which do not exceed 3 hours. It took two weeks but then the PCN was cancelled and a brief apology was given. No flowers, no chocolates, no bottle of wine though.

Frank was relieved and grateful and will, on Mr Mustard's advice, display their clock every time they park even though they don't need to.

Now you blue badge holders know and so you won't meekly pay up if any council makes the same mistake as Barnet did. Simply email mrmustard@zoho.com for free help.

Yours frugally

Mr Mustard

Blue badge clock up

It is in the nature of the elderly and/or disabled to forget, sometimes, to put their blue badge clock out when they park on single or double yellow lines (which they are allowed to do for up to 3 hours as long as there aren't any restrictions on loading, which are usually indicated by kerb flashes and a sign).

The mother of a friend put her badge out, but forgot the clock, when she recently parked in High Barnet at 10:38 in the morning. She got a parking ticket.

Mr Mustard appealed on the grounds that although the clock was not on display a contravention could not have taken place as the yellow line is only operative from 08:00 so parking tickets for this offence should not be issued before 11:00

The council didn't accept that argument but did cancel the ticket because of an unspecified "technical error". It would have been nice to know what it was but the main thing is that the parking ticket was cancelled.

Mr Mustard is inclined to think that the argument is a good one. It has been used to good effect in PATAS case 2080110323. Mr Mustard recommends that if you find yourself in similar circumstances that you trot out the same argument.

Yours frugally

Mr Mustard