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Bus Lane Camera — Approval or Calibration Certificate Absent

CCTV cameras used for bus lane enforcement must be type-approved by the Secretary of State and kept in calibrated working order. Operators must be able to produce evidence of the camera's type approval and current calibration certificate. Absence of either renders the footage legally inadmissible as evidence for enforcement purposes.

Legal basis

Civil Enforcement of Road Traffic Contraventions (Approved Devices, Charging and Effective Service) (England) Regulations 2022; Road Traffic Act 1991 s.20 (as applied); Secretary of State type-approval conditions

How to identify this in your case

Challenge was issued based on CCTV footage. Submit a Subject Access Request and an informal request for: (a) the camera's Secretary of State approval reference, (b) the current calibration certificate, (c) the maintenance log for the 30 days prior to the contravention date. Failure to produce any of these is grounds for cancellation.

Sample appeal wording

Dear Representations Team, Re: PCN [NUMBER] — Vehicle [REG] I write to formally challenge this bus lane PCN and to make a disclosure request. The Civil Enforcement of Road Traffic Contraventions (Approved Devices) Regulations require that cameras used for civil parking/bus lane enforcement are type-approved and properly maintained. I formally request: 1. The Secretary of State approval reference for the camera that captured the alleged contravention 2. The current calibration certificate valid at the date of the alleged contravention 3. The camera maintenance log for the 30 days preceding the contravention If the council is unable to produce these documents, the footage cannot be relied upon as evidence and the PCN must be cancelled. Yours faithfully, [NAME]

Replace [PARKING DATE], [NtK DATE] etc. with your own dates before sending.

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