Motoring0 min ago
parking ticket - no lights on!?
My car broke down last friday. It was parked on the road (40mph) and it was wednesday when i eventually got it towed away to goto a garage.
i got a ticket from the police which stated I had a �30 fine for having my car on the road with no signal lights? i didnt now it was law to do this?
Do they expect you to leave your lights on overnight? which would probably run the battery out?
Is there anyway i can contest this? maybe by saying i put them on but the battery must have died?
cheers
i got a ticket from the police which stated I had a �30 fine for having my car on the road with no signal lights? i didnt now it was law to do this?
Do they expect you to leave your lights on overnight? which would probably run the battery out?
Is there anyway i can contest this? maybe by saying i put them on but the battery must have died?
cheers
Answers
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It is a legal requirement to have your parking lights lights on and that means offside and nearside, not just one side, where there speed limit is above 30mph. It doesn't matter if there are street lights or not.
223: All vehicles MUST display parking lights when parked on a road or a lay-by on a road with a speed limit greater than 30 mph.
Law RVLR reg 24
The above is taken from the Highway Code Website.
I know several people who have been caught out by this.
223: All vehicles MUST display parking lights when parked on a road or a lay-by on a road with a speed limit greater than 30 mph.
Law RVLR reg 24
The above is taken from the Highway Code Website.
I know several people who have been caught out by this.
well ive seen loads of broken down cars left at the roadside but most have " police aware " banners on them. maybe it is best to inform the police that you are leaving you car at the roadside.
some of the ones up here lie for days and i`ve even seen them the following day missing wheels etc or burned out ( not that often fot the burned out ones fortunately )
some of the ones up here lie for days and i`ve even seen them the following day missing wheels etc or burned out ( not that often fot the burned out ones fortunately )
Try your local council or NPAS, is it under a local council order? Did they say what the actual offence was and the legistlation (or other) it comes under?
Try - http://www.parking-appeals.gov.uk/welcomeEN.as p
Found this too..http://www.uk-driving-secrets.com/
Try - http://www.parking-appeals.gov.uk/welcomeEN.as p
Found this too..http://www.uk-driving-secrets.com/
it just has writen on it - 'signal lights not on 40mph'
the guy who posted the first post is right.
BUT, what if i had put them on, but my battery died? the car was 15 mins from my house. i assumed it would be safe where it was.
can i contest the fine on the basis that my car battery had died?
cheers
the guy who posted the first post is right.
BUT, what if i had put them on, but my battery died? the car was 15 mins from my house. i assumed it would be safe where it was.
can i contest the fine on the basis that my car battery had died?
cheers
The argument for the prosecution would be: the fact that battery has gone flat is of no consequence, your car is posing a threat to other road users , you should have replaced the battery or removed the car!
I wouldn't have been happy if I drove into the back of you and your excuse was a flat battery!!
I wouldn't have been happy if I drove into the back of you and your excuse was a flat battery!!
Hi Walamob,
You're obviously not as old as me. If you were, you would be able to remember (as I can) the days when ALL cars parked by the roadside (even if they were actually on the grass verge) had to display lights at night. (I'm thinking back to my school days in the 1950s and '60s). The way this was usually done was that car owners had paraffin lamps which showed white to the front and red to the rear. These lamps were hung on the side of the car.
Although that was a long time ago, most of the law which applied then still remains in force. (i.e. vehicles, parked on the public highway, must normally display lights during the hours of darkness). The only change, that has come about since those long off days, is that there is now an exemption for vehicles which are parked in a built-up area (with street lighting), where the speed limit is 30mph or less, and where the vehicle is facing in the direction of the traffic flow. (i.e. the vehicle must be parked on the left side of the road, except in one-way streets).
Unless that exemption applies, you must always ensure that your parked vehicle displays lights, during the hours of darkness, when on a public highway. How you do it is up to you. (You don't have to rely on paraffin lamps any more. You can get rechargeable parking lights these days). If you don't do so, you will be committing an offence.
Legally, you haven't got a leg to stand on. You might find that the authorities would take a compassionate view if you advised them that the vehicle wasn't deliberately parked but had broken down. However, you might also need to explain the reasons why you didn't get the car moved for 5 days.
Chris
You're obviously not as old as me. If you were, you would be able to remember (as I can) the days when ALL cars parked by the roadside (even if they were actually on the grass verge) had to display lights at night. (I'm thinking back to my school days in the 1950s and '60s). The way this was usually done was that car owners had paraffin lamps which showed white to the front and red to the rear. These lamps were hung on the side of the car.
Although that was a long time ago, most of the law which applied then still remains in force. (i.e. vehicles, parked on the public highway, must normally display lights during the hours of darkness). The only change, that has come about since those long off days, is that there is now an exemption for vehicles which are parked in a built-up area (with street lighting), where the speed limit is 30mph or less, and where the vehicle is facing in the direction of the traffic flow. (i.e. the vehicle must be parked on the left side of the road, except in one-way streets).
Unless that exemption applies, you must always ensure that your parked vehicle displays lights, during the hours of darkness, when on a public highway. How you do it is up to you. (You don't have to rely on paraffin lamps any more. You can get rechargeable parking lights these days). If you don't do so, you will be committing an offence.
Legally, you haven't got a leg to stand on. You might find that the authorities would take a compassionate view if you advised them that the vehicle wasn't deliberately parked but had broken down. However, you might also need to explain the reasons why you didn't get the car moved for 5 days.
Chris
There are no mitigating circumstances.
No person shall...allow to remain at rest, or cause or permit to be allowed to remain at rest, on a road any vehicle between sunset and sunrise unless every front position lamp, rear position lamp, rear registration plate lamp, side marker lamp and end-outline marker lamp with which the vehicle is required by these Regulations to be fitted is kept lit and unobscured.
[This does] not apply in respect of a vehicle... which is parked on a road on which a speed limit of 30 mph or less is in force and the vehicle is parked -
� in a [designated] parking place
� in a [designated] lay-by
� on a [one-way] road and its left or near side is as close as may be and parallel to the left-hand edge of the carriageway or its right or off side is as close as may be and parallel to the right-hand edge of the carriageway; or
� on a road [not one-way] and its left or near side is as close as may be and parallel to the edge of the carriageway.
The Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989
No person shall...allow to remain at rest, or cause or permit to be allowed to remain at rest, on a road any vehicle between sunset and sunrise unless every front position lamp, rear position lamp, rear registration plate lamp, side marker lamp and end-outline marker lamp with which the vehicle is required by these Regulations to be fitted is kept lit and unobscured.
[This does] not apply in respect of a vehicle... which is parked on a road on which a speed limit of 30 mph or less is in force and the vehicle is parked -
� in a [designated] parking place
� in a [designated] lay-by
� on a [one-way] road and its left or near side is as close as may be and parallel to the left-hand edge of the carriageway or its right or off side is as close as may be and parallel to the right-hand edge of the carriageway; or
� on a road [not one-way] and its left or near side is as close as may be and parallel to the edge of the carriageway.
The Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989
cheers chris and guys
i guess i'll have to pay it then. i didnt get it towed because the guy who does my car wasnt in till tuesday and the recovery company said the car is best being moved when i have actually booked the car into a garage and that the place it will be taken to is actually open - tuesday being the nearest time! but on the tuesday, i was in work by myself the whole day which i didnt anticipate and so i had to leave it till the next day! major bummer!
anyway, the car was there as a 'dangerous' hazard to road users... but as we know, there was no accident in the 5 days it was there.. anyhow, thanks for your info guys
Mark
i guess i'll have to pay it then. i didnt get it towed because the guy who does my car wasnt in till tuesday and the recovery company said the car is best being moved when i have actually booked the car into a garage and that the place it will be taken to is actually open - tuesday being the nearest time! but on the tuesday, i was in work by myself the whole day which i didnt anticipate and so i had to leave it till the next day! major bummer!
anyway, the car was there as a 'dangerous' hazard to road users... but as we know, there was no accident in the 5 days it was there.. anyhow, thanks for your info guys
Mark
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