Furious pensioner forced through LEZ route by diversion and fined £60 penalty
A grandfather who fell foul of a LEZ has vowed to take on the authorities after being given a fine, claiming he was forced into it by a motorway closure.
Joe Henry, 72, who drives a 12-year-old diesel Mitsubishi Outlander, followed diversion signs for several miles – unaware it was taking him into the prohibited area of Glasgow city centre.
Joe was left fuming when he was issued the £60 fixed penalty notice and appealed, but that was thrown out, so he now plans another appeal and legal action to contest the "unjust" fine from Glasgow City Council, and is adamant he will not be coughing up any cash.
Grandfather Joseph Henry from Clydebank got a fixed penalty notice (Stuart Wilson)The LEZ scheme, which came into force in June, bans older vehicles such as Joe's from certain areas of the city centre and anyone caught flouting the law risks a £60 fine.
Joe said: “I was diverted into a LEZ when I was trying to avoid it. As a point of principle, I am going to fight this fine. I feel it is unjust and I am not going to accept it. The whole LEZ thing is badly thought out and really does need to be challenged in the courts. There is no way they are getting money off me.”
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Joe, from Clydebank, had travelled 10 miles to Rutherglen in the south-east of Glasgow to buy a small trailer on June 22, but on his way back around 7pm, he tried to join the M74 – to avoid the LEZ – however, he was diverted by roadworks on to London Road in the east end of the city, near to the famous Barrowland Ballroom and close to the city centre.
But a road at nearby Glasgow Green, which would have taken him away from the zone, was also blocked off, so he took a left turn into the Saltmarket area – away from the city centre – in a further effort to avoid the LEZ and managed to eventually join the M8 motorway on the south side to get him home.
Joe, however, didn't realise he had already been snared by the dreaded cameras. He added: “A few weeks later I got a letter saying my car had been in an LEZ zone in London Road, with a photograph of my car.
“I appealed against it and said I had been diverted into the area referred to and had genuinely not seen any LEZ signs. I had done all I could to avoid the LEZ, given I was not familiar with the area, but the council rejected my appeal.”
Joe said he was aware his car did not meet the low-emission standard, which was why he was using the motorway to avoid the LEZ. It is not known who was responsible for the roadworks diversion.
The Glasgow emission crackdown applies to petrol vehicles registered before 2006 and diesels before 2015. Critics say the Glasgow LEZ is having a detrimental effect on city-centre businesses and taxi services and is causing a lot of problems for people on low incomes who need cars for work but cannot afford new ones. Similar LEZs are due to be enforced in Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee from next year.
Glasgow City Council has collected £221,000 from motorists in fines in the first three months of the scheme, with the profits set to be used to create rain gardens and wildflower meadows.
There is an existing bid for a judicial review of the LEZ scheme in Glasgow. William Paton, owner of Patons Accident Repair Centre, situated just yards inside the boundary of the LEZ, wants to battle it in court, with the case due to be heard at the Court of Session in Edinburgh later this month.
A council spokeswoman said: “Appropriate signage is displayed in advance of entering the LEZ to give drivers the opportunity to take an alternative route. If an LEZ penalty charge notice appeal is rejected, the person has the right, within the relevant timescales, to appeal to the independent adjudicator, namely the First Tier Tribunals, Transport Appeals.”
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