I was slapped with a driving ban for speeding but it wasn’t my fault – thousands of others could be caught out
A MOTORIST has been left relieved after his driving ban for speeding was slashed because it wasn’t his fault.
Jamie Foster had previously been disqualified for six months after racking up 12 penalty points on the same road within seven days.
Mr Foster, from Isle of Sheppey, Kent, was repeatedly observed travelling at 50mph in a 40mph zone of the A20 near Sidcup, South London, in January.
The road had been reduced to 40mph due to safety concerns over flooding.
But Bromley Magistrates’ Court has now cut that down to 28 days thanks to a mix-up with the road signs.
It transpired that a rogue 50mph speed limit sign had appeared along the route, leaving some drivers scratching their heads.
Magistrates decided to reduce Mr Foster’s ban on the grounds that the signage enforcing the road’s limit was poor.
Shirley Foster, his mother, said: “Jamie’s had a clean licence as a lot of people have.
“It was inadequate signage, that’s what we’ve said all along – that was the mitigation.”
However, Mr Foster’s legal team believe that thousands more Brits may have been caught out by the error.
Dominic Smith, director at traffic solicitors firm Patterson Law, told The Evening Standard: “It’s not just unprecedented, it’s just in a different ballpark from anything I’ve seen before.”
He estimates that around 62,000 people may have been affected over the past few months.
When contacted by The Sun, Transport for London and the Met Police each directed the query to the other.
TfL is responsible for putting up and maintaining road signs, while the Met enforces road laws in London.
However, a TfL spokesperson told The Standard: “Safety is our number one priority and we have temporarily introduced a 40mph speed limit on the A20 Sidcup Road due to ongoing surface water flooding which has caused a number of safety concerns and serious risk to road users.
“The reduced speed limit has been introduced in response to that risk.
“Major work is required to put in place permanent measures to tackle flooding here and we are working to do this as soon as possible.
“We plan to begin construction work on these measures in May.”
A Met Police spokesperson added: “On January 24 we were informed that a 50mph sign had been placed on a section of the eastbound A20 in Sidcup where the speed limit had recently been reduced to 40mph.
“The sign has been removed.
“We have confirmed that it was not placed there by the Met or Transport for London and we are investigating this as an attempt to pervert the course of justice.”
However, the force said it was unable to comment on the outcome of the court case.