Thousands may have been wrongly fined due to incorrect speed limit signs on a major South London road.
The A20 Sidcup bypass had 40mph limits from October 2023 to October 2024. Transport for London (TfL) says flooding caused issues there, leading to those speed limit changes for safety.
Someone put an unauthorized 50mph sign there in January, whilst the 40mph limit existed. Patterson Law says many people contacted them back then with questions about driving offenses nearby.
Thomas Turrell, a Conservative Assembly Member for the area, proposed a motion about this situation. He thinks TfL installed incorrect signs and the traffic order seemed missing from TfL’s website. He said TfL should not judge its own actions.
Mr. Turrell stated drivers received fines and penalties because TfL did not follow rules properly when they imposed the temporary limit. He said campaigners gave him evidence of these failures, showing the rules weren’t followed.
Caroline Russell, a Green London Assembly Member, stated that many collisions occurred from flooding. She believes TfL’s signage was correct after the emergency traffic order in October 2023, noting it followed national rules.
Ms. Russell also checked variable message signs, confirming they were correct and warned about the 40mph limit on October 4. They appeared months before enforcement started, she argues.
She added drivers had ample warning about the coming enforcement, which started in December 2023. People had much notice beforehand.
The motion passed with a 16-3 vote at the meeting. A TfL spokesperson emphasized that safety remains their top priority. The 40mph limit started after ongoing flooding issues which posed a great risk.
TfL says they installed new, compliant signage, ensuring all drivers knew about the limit. For a short time, there was an incorrect 50mph sign that someone unauthorized put there illegally, endangering road users quickly. They quickly replaced that sign with the correct one.
The TfL spokesperson was very direct; all other signs were correct and compliant with rules, following all of the regulations.