Not smart: council car caught ‘breaking law’ (From Haringey Independent)

Not smart: council car caught ‘breaking law’

1:54pm Thursday 8th November 2007 in News

A HARINGEY Council driver faces being fined for breaking a law he is supposed to enforce. An enforcement Smart car was pictured stopped in a box junction in Tottenham, breaching the Highway Code. The council uses the Smart cars, equipped with CCTV cameras, to catch drivers who ignore road signs and make illegal manoeuvres that put themselves and other drivers at risk - including stopping inside box junctions. A passing motorist captured the enforcement vehicle illegally stopped at the box junction on the A10 after making a left turn into Broad Lane at about 3.20pm on October 26. Transport for London (TfL), which enforces motoring rules on the road, said any driver found to be breaking the box junction rule would be issued with a penalty charge notice (PCN) for £120.

The driver who took the photograph, who wished to remain anonymous, posted the pictures on the PePiPoo website aimed at "helping the motorist get justice". He wrote: "When he the Smart car driver stopped on the box junction I couldn't get my phone out fast enough. Felt like jumping out of my van, tapping on his window and asking him what he was playing at."

A council spokesman said: "No ticket has been issued by TfL so we can't comment on a hypothetical situation. "In general terms, council vehicles are expected to obey the laws of the road, and anyone concerned about how a council vehicle is driven is welcome to get in touch with us." Martin Brofey, a Haringey parking campaigner, said: "It is not the first time the council has been caught breaking the law and I absolutely think it should be served with a PCN. The law should be applied to everybody equally. "The council is always banging on about public safety, so if it's been caught infringing that safety, it should be held to account." Haringey Independent has forwarded the photographs to TfL.