Earl Aelfheah

Southwark cancelled over 23,000 PCNs on appeal last year. So clearly it is not the case they have a computer says no approach. The difference is in how two organisations operating on entirely different scales, bulk process appeals. The footage was reviewed and his appeal declined. Those are the facts. You seem to be assuming that the decision was a wrong one, but based on what? The fact that Rockets is annoyed and has gone on about it for months? It sounds like he drove into a clearly marked bus lane and got caught.

Again, Rockets hasn’t actually talked about what the rules allow, but how far you might be able to break them and get away with it - and treats those things as though they’re the same. So what might one reasonably infer about motivation?

He insists his fine is unfair, not because of unclear signage, or any misunderstanding of the rules, but based of what he might have otherwise got away with on appeal had he been dealing with TfL. Well he wasn’t dealing with TfL. Rockets hasn’t actually talked about what the rules allow, but how far you might be able to break them - and treats those things as though they’re the same. And it is a fact that he’s been moaning about this for nearly a year now, across multiple threads. It’s beyond boring.

Oh, he wasn’t caught in a bus lane? What was he fined for then? 🤔 Helpfully, Rockets has told us, posting the response to his appeal: It’s just a year long tantrum across multiple threads. It’s embarrassing.

You drove into a clearly marked bus lane and got caught. You’re not Nelson Mandela ffs 🤣

Omg. Get over it. It was a year ago and your appeal was rejected. Take some responsibility

😭 Were you cutting up the inside of another vehicle by chance?

I can’t bear the media “is this racist comment racist” angle taken to reporting it. I feel like she’s a useful out rider for Farage to test how far they can take their rhetoric - it’s not the first time she’s said things that cross over the line. Overt racism is becoming far more commonplace and it’s deeply concerning.

New Palace x Nike space opening in Walworth - indoor skatepark, football cage, work and exhibit space, and shop

TfL will fine you if your car enters a bus lane exactly as Southwark do. Read the Highway Code if you’re unsure about the rules on bus lanes, or the signage, or the public guidance issued by both Southwark and TfL. It’s all pretty clear.

The fines are there to deter people from driving in bus lanes. That bus lane is clearly marked, clearly signed, it's an easy turn into a one way street. There is no reason to be in the bus lane. Southwark are enforcing clear rules. When you cut through all the noise, the months of moaning. All you've really got is a refusal to admit an error and take the fine on the chin. It's also notable that you've never challenged the suggestion you may have been undertaking slow moving or stationary vehicles (which is the main reason for people getting caught in that bus lane - otherwise you're just making the turn more difficult by coming over early).

Exactly. That bus lane is clearly marked, clearly signed, it's an easy turn into a one way street. There is no reason to be in the bus lane. All Southwark are doing is enforcing clear rules. Yeh, it's annoying to be fined, but what is it people think is 'unfair'?

On appeal. If you enter a bus lane before turning left you will be issued with a fine. Both TfL rules and the highway code are clear that you are not allow you to enter a bus lane when turning left unless there is an arrow and broken white lines indicating that you can. The internal guidance TfL follow in relation to managing appeals is not 'their rules on when you can use a bus lane'. All public authorities will take a view on how much time and money they're willing to put in to pursuing enforcement action. This bus lane isn't even TfL operated, so how is any of it relevant? It is all just the usual deflection and nonsense. If Rockets wants to discuss whether it was unfair, then he can share the photos.

@ianr - that's interesting. It does indeed suggest that TfLs internal guidance on dealing with appeals is to give 20 metres of grace. This does not amount to what was originally claimed however - that TfL allow people to drive in bus lanes when turning left - you can read the signs, their guidance to drivers on their website and the relevant rules in the highway code. There is a big difference from the rules in place and the circumstances under which a public body decides it's worth the time and cost of pursuing an appeal (and possibly legal action) against a traffic offender. The document appears to have been obtained through a freedom of information request on internal procedures, by people looking for loopholes for their offending. There is an easier way to avoid having to pay out, and that's just to follow the rules in the first place. To be clear, you are not allowed to enter a bus lane, even to turn left except where there is an arrow and a dotted line indicating that you can. Drive in a bus lane and you will still be issued a ticket. And of course, the bus lane in question is operated by Southwark, not TfL - so it's kind of irrelevant. @Rockets You can blank out your car in the pictures. You've chosen to spend a year complaining across multiple threads about how unfair the enforcement of that bus lane is, and have finally admitted that you're really talking about an incidence where you got caught yourself. Why not share the evidence, so that people can judge that themselves? I don't - the road markings and signage are clear. The turn into Overhill is easy, there is no reason at all to enter the bus before turning (it actually makes the turn more difficult). So in what sense is it a 'trap'?

Drive in a TfL bus lane. See what happens. Better still, just wait next time and don’t slip by stationary traffic to turn left using the bus lane. Or do, and take the fine on the chin like most people would. Anything really, but 12 months worth of excuses and conspiracy posts across multiple threads.

@Rockets TfL do not let you drive in a bus lane for 20 metres before turning left. You continually repeating it, doesn’t make it true. The quote you provide is from guidance marked ‘in confidence’ (no doubt obtained by someone trying to find loop holes for their offending) to outsourced enforcement companies processing appeals in bulk on behalf of TfL. It does not suggest that you can use a TfL bus lane if turning left and not get a ticket. The document (actually an appendix to a schedule) also states that it must be considered in context of other documents, which we don't have. It's just another tedious example of your searching for snippets of information that you think vaguely align with what you want to believe, whilst ignoring everything else. Both Tfl and the highway code are clear that you must not drive or stop in a bus lane during its hours of operation unless the signs indicate you may do so. If you insist on driving in bus lanes you will get fined, whether they're operated by Southwark or TfL. Suggesting otherwise is extremely misleading and irresponsible. Southwark's response suggests that you were in the bus lane before turning left. Why you had to hide the fact that you had been fined and wrap up your annoyance in conspiracy, (rather than just accept an error like most people), is beyond me. The fact that you've gone on about it for nearly a year, is ridiculous. This is where the bus lane ends. The road goes in to one lane.

Yeh, that's quite different. Rockets apparently got fined in the bus lane when turning left (before turning left?) into Overhill Road. Although he didn't admit this for quite a while, rather pretending that he was just concerned generally about an unavoidable trap, cynically set by Southwark to trick people. He's referenced it for months across multiple threads. He also repeatedly stated that you are allowed to drive in TfL operated bus lanes if turning left. This isn't true of course (unless there are dotted lines and an arrow indicating that you can move across) and is not a very helpful myth to spread.

I wasn’t suggesting you shouldn’t look. Just pointing out in the context of the picture that it’s a one lane road, so you have lots of room to turn into it.

Just a quick reminder. Back in 2024 Rockets started a thread ostensibly to 'warn' people of a conspiracy by Southwark council to 'trap' people innocently driving into the bus lane at the junction of Lordship Lane and Overhill Road. At the time Rockets refused to confirm whether he had been fined. The suggestion that he might be motivated by having been caught out himself was described by First mate as an outrageous personal attack: "seen before with the pro LTN lobby if you cannot debate with facts and evidence, then go low, seems part of the playbook.". Worth pointing out that nearly a year later, he's finally fessed up. This is the junction in question: Overhill Road (pictured going off to the left) is one way, so you're turning into the middle of the road - there is no traffic coming towards you. It's pretty hard, turning left, to 'clip' the bus lane without getting close to also clipping the near curb / hitting the lamppost. But there is often stationary traffic queueing back from the lights, and people do get caught by the cameras slipping up the inside of another vehicle (in the bus lane). @Rockets you weren’t 'clipping' the bus lane as you cut up the inside of some traffic to turn left were you?

No, but do you think that's what happened in Rockets case? Anyone who knows that turn and who followed Rockets ridiculous multipage conspiracy post (in which he refused to actually confirm that he had been fined - good to get that clear), will note not just what was said, but the questions that were assiduously ignored / ducked. And the fact that he appears not to have appealed it. It's just a very public demonstration of sour grapes, and an ongoing inability to admit error.

It’s not that hard to avoid crossing into a bus lane. If you felt your fine was unjust, you should have appealed it, instead of repeatedly complaining about it across this forum over many months.

Not this again. Is the issue unclear signage when it comes to you driving across a bus lane too? Because bus lanes are pretty easy to see

Play another tune Rockets

On Bicycles less than an hour ago: On cars less than half an hour ago:

And of course 20mph isn’t meant to be a money saving scheme. It’s meant to make roads safer, which it does.