A man fined for stopping outside a bus station overturned claims the box junction he was caught in contravenes traffic signs regulations.

Norman Tuchband stopped in a box junction in Station Road outside Edgware station “for a very short period of time” on January 4 after the traffic lights ahead of him changed, leaving him at a standstill.

He was subsequently fined £65 by Barnet Council for “entering and stopping in a box junction when prohibited”.

Mr Tuchband said that he was “elated” when he successfully appealed his Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) at a hearing on April 13.

But Mr Tuchband claimed that he knew of at least one other person who had been fined for a similar infraction since his appeal was successful. 

He now believes many other drivers who have received a fine for the same infraction could have been wrongly penalised.

In the adjudicator’s decision in favour of Mr Tuchband, it was decided that the box junction in question, which lies in the northbound carriageway, did not “fall within the ambit” of traffic signs regulations.

Under current regulations, box junctions must be “laid at a junction between two roads”.

But the only other road at the place the box junction in question is located is one that leads to the bus depot.

The adjudicator in Mr Tuchband’s appeal agreed with him that the carriageway into the depot was “of a private character being without public access” raising doubts that the box junction complied with regulations.

But Barnet Council has claimed that this decision does not establish any kind of precedent for subsequent appeals, and that other adjudicators have ruled in the council’s favour on this matter.

A Barnet Council spokesperson said: “While the adjudicator did not uphold this particular Penalty Charge, such decisions are made on the basis of the available information and do not establish precedent.

“In the last six months two other adjudicators have looked at the same question raised about this box junction and confirmed that it is placed at a junction.

“The council continues to enforce this box junction at the junction of the main road and a road which serves car parks and the bus station.

“This box protects exits from the access road and helps to maintain reliable public transport for residents and visitors.”