No-choice banned turn: road closed or sign hidden
Councils can issue penalty notices for banned turns or no-entry violations, but you may have a strong case if you genuinely had no safe alternative — for example, the road ahead was closed and you had to turn, or a sign was blocked from view by a parked lorry. When a council has only recently started enforcing these rules, official government guidance says they should issue warning notices instead of fines during roughly the first six months. High error rates have been recorded in areas where enforcement started recently.
Legal basis
Traffic Management Act 2004 Part 6; SI 2022/63; Bus Lane Contraventions (Approved Local Authorities) (England) (Amendment) and Civil Enforcement of Moving Traffic Contraventions Designation Order 2024 (SI 2024/1135); TSRGD 2016
How to identify this in your case
Check whether council had only just commenced enforcement (DfT statutory guidance directs warning notices in early 6 months). Document signage obstructions and temporary road closures.
Sample appeal wording
Dear Sir/Madam, Re: PCN [NUMBER] — Moving Traffic Contravention — [LOCATION] — [DATE] I challenge this PCN. 1. UNAVOIDABLE MANOEUVRE: At [TIME] on [DATE] I made the [banned right turn / entered the no-entry road] because [the road ahead was closed without diversion signs / the prescribed sign was obscured by [parked vehicle/foliage] / a satnav diverted me / I was avoiding an immediate hazard]. Photographs/screenshots attached. 2. DfT WARNING-NOTICE GUIDANCE: This camera was commissioned on [DATE] (please confirm via FOI). The DfT Statutory Guidance to Local Authorities on Civil Enforcement of Moving Traffic Contraventions (March 2022) directs councils to issue warning notices instead of PCNs for the first 6 months of enforcement at any given location. I should at most have received a warning notice. 3. SIGNAGE COMPLIANCE: I require disclosure of the consolidated TRO and a TSRGD 2016-compliant signing schedule. Please cancel the PCN. Yours faithfully, [NAME]
Replace [PARKING DATE], [NtK DATE] etc. with your own dates before sending.
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Related appeal grounds
- Asking the Council to Let You Pay in Instalments
- Bus lane — emergency / unavoidable (giving way to emergency vehicle)
- Compelling reasons to ask Oxfordshire County Council to cancel the Oxford ZEZ penalty
- Council acted unreasonably — claim your appeal costs
- Drove into low-traffic zone during a genuine emergency
- EV bay overstay — TRO max-stay vs reasonable charging time