I saved drivers £70,000 in fines with a warning sign about traffic cameras…the council fought me – but I won
A MAN claims to have saved drivers £70,000 in fines by standing in the road with a hand made sign warning them of traffic cameras.
Ricky, 55, scrawled "£65 fine if you enter" on his A4 sign to ensure motorists weren't nabbed by the 'School Streets' scheme in Croydon, south London.
Croydon Council launched the scheme to increase safety and improve air quality outside schools.
The initiative means drivers face a £130 fine, £65 if paid within 14 days, for entering Haling Road between 8-9.30am and 2-4pm.
Ricky believes he stopped more than 700 drivers from getting fined during his one-man mission, My London reports.
The carer claims the scheme is purely "revenue based" and the council's road signs aren't eye-catching enough for drivers to spot.
He said: "I still think it is just revenue based, the cameras serve no purpose as cars can are still able to drive down the road when kids are leaving school.
"If they really wanted to stop cars there would be a barrier there. I do think it needs advance warning, I hope it will help.
"I think I've cut their income by well over half in six weeks I stopped more than 700 people, that is £70,000 in fines."
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Ricky completed his mission over six weeks before eventually winning his battle with the council to have more advance warning signs installed.
Now the council has promised to install more signs so residents can avoid the penalties.
Ricky said: "I think I've cut their income by well over half in six weeks I stopped more than 700 people, that is £70,000 in fines."
In response, a Croydon Council spokesperson said: "The extra signage will go beyond the legal requirements, and act as an extra advanced warning for drivers entering the Haling Road school street."
Applying penalties to the area of road was supposed to keep pollution to a minimum and increase safety around the school site.
It comes as the new refreshed Highway Code was launched on January 29 focussing on vulnerable road users like pedestrians and cyclists.
The new rules are another reminder for drivers to be alert out on the road just as Ricky tried to highlight with his make-shift signs.
Can I appeal a driving fine?
Drivers could save thousands of pounds by appealing unfair parking and driving fines as around half of all claims are successful, a Sun investigation found.
Drivers hit by the penalty on Haling Road might have a hard time doing so though, as the signs did exist – however hard to spot.
Now that the council is taking the action to put in place more signs, it'll be even harder to appeal on the basis of simply not noticing them.
But previous research conducted by The Sun found that almost half of the tickets that go to appeal are wiped – so it can be worth challenging fines that you think are unfair.
If you do get stung it's worth keeping in mind that the quicker you do pay, the less you'll have to fork out too.
The Croydon school road fine was almost 50% cheaper if drivers were speedy about paying up.
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