What were we supposed...
What were we supposed to do? Grab shovels and dig our way through, searching for bus stops where we"d wait in sub-zero temperatures for public service vehicles with no seatbelts? Or would it have been more acceptable to pay a dollar a minute to ride around in filthy yellow cabs for a week? Alternatively, I could have opted for a simple two-wheel-drive car. But in such tricky conditions, I feared I"d end up down a ditch or in the path of an oncoming truck, so I opted for a 4x4.
Councils are being caught...
Councils are being caught on camera flouting their own parking laws! We spotted this Smart CCTV car parked on double yellow lines outside a school in Medway, Kent ò€“ one of the very places itò€™s hoping to catch motorists breaking road rules.
Councillors in Richmond, Surrey, have also come under fire from residents who have spotted similar spy cars parked in a disabled bay and also on double yellow lines. But a spokesman argued: ò€œThe vehicle is permitted to park there to carry out vital enforcement work.ò€
Itò€™s not only rules that local authorities are turning a blind eye to, either. New figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act reveal they are unlawfully issuing fines to motorists who ignore incorrectly applied road markings and misleading signage, too. These penalties should be overturned, but some local authorities are not only failing to fix the street furniture, but continuing to prosecute too. In north London, Camden Council collected nearly Ò£250,000 in fines from motorists caught driving down a pedestrianised street, after a ruling found it wasnò€™t signposted correctly. Authorities have no obligation to repay these fines, but the Dep-artment for Transport has urged them to ò€œseriously considerò€ doing so.