Right turns leave drivers on wrong side of the law
Friday 11th July 2008, 2:57PM BST.
SCORES of drivers have been fined for taking a right into Victoria Street from David Place, despite signs telling them not to.
There are six temporary ‘no right turn’ signs from outside the Deanery up to the turning itself.
But the signs have not put drivers off, as many are still turning the corner – to find police officers waiting for them and a subsequent parish hall inquiry.
Around 70 drivers appeared in the Town Hall on Wednesday night to pay fines of anything up to £100. Police say that 80 drivers have been charged so far for failing to comply with the signs.
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Another disgrace. Police officers earning £50k a year with nothing better to do with their time than make criminals out of people and generate more indirect tax.
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Can anyone tell me why can’t we turn right anyway?
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Amazing that the police have found the time & the officers to catch these drivers.
In Colomberie precinct we have had a constant problem for a number of years with cyclists racing through the precinct area where shoppers/tourists with young familys are having to watch their backs in case of these cyclists knocking over someone even though both ends of the precinct are clearly marked as “no cycling permitted”.
We the retailers have complained to the police many times but being informed of the shortage of personnel to spare to catch them, then lo & behold we read that they (the police) are all up at the other end of town catching motorists turning the wrong way down a street.
Is it that it is easier to prosecute the drivers of cars with a higher financial penalty than it is to catch these “racer cyclists”
T.Nightingale
Colomberie Traders Association
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Nick, the reason they put this in action is that with the traffic not been able to go down Val Pleasent thus they go down to the lights and turn right. In peak times this causes delays into bath street. So for once they used thier noggins and devised this plan.
As i use this route regular i agree with what they are doing. You get to the lights, second in the queue, the lights go green and all of a sudden the guy in front indicates to go right! you then sit behind him only to wait the lights to change red again!
do what everyone else does and go round… it only takes a couple extra minutes.
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Mark, you mention peak times. So why doesn’t the no right turn just operate at peak times? I wonder how many of those that have been fined were caught at a time of day when it didn’t really matter or cause any hold-up?
Surely the police have something better to do with their time than this.
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Several weeks ago I was behind a police car that turned right, is there one law for us & one for the police ?,
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Dean – In a word yes. The vast majority of signs can be ignored by any vehicle being used for police, fire or ambulance services.
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Why dont they just put a sign up at the beginning of the road saying no entry, then people would not be able to drive down it unless they live in the area, surely that would save valuable police time and money for everyone concerned.
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If I was any of the 70 people that have been up in front of the Town Hall, I would be demanding my money back. The sign saying no left turn is a warning sign (rectangle and red background)and not a sign giving an order. No right turn signs are circular with a red border with a red line through the middle (as is the case for the no left turn that is under the traffic lights on the same junction). Anyone turning right is therefore either not breaking the law or (more likely) is not being informed correctly by the signs.
Similar to the guy who got let off his speeding fine when the signing was incorrect recently.
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Mark
A good point Roger. The Highway Code has clear and simple signage, so why not use the Highway Code? Messy signage, full of text is a hazard; drivers should be focused on the road and not distracted by messy signage.
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So what, the police spend their time doing this instead of catching real criminals?
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Why don’t they station the police officers on the junction to stop the cars turning in the first place?
I remember a copper getting the hump with me when I flashed some cars to alert them to a speed trap along Grouville. When he told me I was obstructing the police, I replied I was doing my bit for crime prevention.
In response to number 7, they can only break the rules of the road in an emergency. Unless he had his blue lights on, you should have noted his number and reported it.
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