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Speeding ticket sparks confusion over definition of a dual carriageway
Page 15
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By David Hnr, A TICKET FOR speeding issued to an owner-driver has caused confusion over what is defined as a dual carriageway and what is not.
Les Parrott received a ticket for driving an artic at 48mph on a section of the A556, which has Iwo lanes on each side of the road but is not designated as a dual carriageway because it does not have a central reservation.
Parrott, an owner-driver from Dove Holes, Derbyshire, who says he has a clean licence after 36 years' driving, believed he was on a dual carriageway and therefore entitled to drive at 50mph. The limit is 40mph on an ordinary A-road, which is how the road he was on is defined.
He has since asked several haulage companies about the issue, and says "the only ones who seem to know about it are those that have been done for it': Transport lawyer Tim Ridyard, of Barker Gotelee Solicitors in Ipswich, Suffolk, says the confusion is not new and that even if a road has three lanes, it is not defined as a dual carriageway unless it has a central reservation.
Ridyard says this definition is -constantly being revisited" by politicians, but that a relaxation of the speeding laws is "politically very unpalatable" because of the strength of the road safety lobby.
He adds that the definition of a dual carriageway is quite clear in the Road Traffic Act 1984, so it is unlikely that any appeal against a speeding fine incurred in these circumstances would be successful.
• Have you been caught out like Les Parrott? We'd like to hear from you — call CM on 020 8652 3689.