Legalised entrapment on Corporation Street Derby.

Despite living near Derby and traveling near there often, I rarely visit the city center due to the confusing road layout. Instead, I choose to take a longer route using dual carriageways and motorways for most of my journeys. However, when my girlfriend needed an emergency appointment near Ripley, I decided to take a shortcut using a satnav. Although the outward journey was smooth, on our way back, the satnav took us on a bizarre route through the center of Derby, which we found confusing and got lost.

To complicate matters, my girlfriend knew that Corporation Street had started fining motorists for using it, but being a non-driver, she was unaware of our location until it was too late. The confusion was compounded by the road markings, which indicated turning left or right was possible, with no indication that the left turn was only for the bus lane. At this point, the only clear sign was the red "do not enter" signs on the right side of the roundabout.

Cannot turn right somewhere obviously.

Upon moving closer to the roundabout things become more visible. Or do they ?

Follow the blue and white arrows to the entrapment zone. Watch out for the pedestrians!

What immediately catches your attention are the blue signs with white arrows pointing left, which suggest the typical way of navigating the roundabout. However, there are two other blue signs with white centers that are a little further out of view, and this is where the problems begin. At a quick glance, you may mistake the different signs for being the same as the ones you've already seen on the roundabout.

At this point, we were also trying to follow the satnav directions, while discussing where we were, which lanes to take, and avoiding pedestrians who were walking all over the place. There may have been a bus blocking the view of the signs, which can be easily missed. There was a lot happening at that particular time.

Like many drivers, I drive with the sun visor down, which limits my field of view when approaching these signs. I rely on them being clearly visible from a distance. Camera signs are usually everywhere, but I pay little attention to them since I always drive at the legal speed anyway.

Later, after looking at Google Maps, I realized that these blue signs are different and have writing underneath them, which was clearly missed in the second it took to go around the corner. My priorities at that moment were not to run over people and to figure out which lane I should be in.

As we approached the next roundabout, there were similar blue signs with white arrows. It was then that my girlfriend realized where we were and warned me that we could get fined for going down that road.

We searched for any signs indicating a bus-only lane or a "do not enter" sign but could not find any at the time. We were also trying to follow the satnav's instructions, avoid other traffic, and pedestrians, so we just went straight over the roundabout and saw nothing clearly visible to indicate that traffic should not be going in that direction. However, by then, it was already too late.

Just your average roundabout.

Upon researching on the Internet, it has become evident that numerous drivers have raised concerns about this issue. It would be much clearer and less confusing for motorists if roads that are off-limits to cars were marked with the standard red "do not enter" signs, with exceptions listed for buses and taxis underneath. Instead, the use of similar colors and designs with white centers has caused confusion, which has persisted for the past two years.

If I intentionally drove down a "do not enter" road, I would expect to be fined because it would be my own mistake. However, the signage in this case is easily obstructed, and there are no additional road markings to indicate that the lanes are for bus use only.

It appears that the confusing design is deliberate, with the intention of generating revenue. It is unfortunate that profit seems to take priority over helping the community, considering that fines have already generated almost 2 million. It would seem logical for the authorities to allocate some funds and make the requested minor changes to the road markings and signage, considering the number of drivers who have brought up the issue.

It was found in this article about the amount of motorists which are being caught out.

November 2021 – 2,257 fines issued
December 2021 – 7,067
January 2022 – 4,687
February 2022 – 4,176
March 2022 – 4,007
April 2022 – 3,692
May 2022 – 4,186
June 2022 – 2,927
July 2022 – 3,391
August 2022 – 3,781
September 2022 – 2,752
October 2022 – 4,206
November 2022 – 2,798
December 2022 – 2,428

After researching the issue and contacting Derby City Council, their response was that the signage was improved beyond the legal requirements before issuing PCNs (Penalty Charge Notice). It is frustrating how rules can be lax when profit is being generated from motorists. The solution would be simple: just place a "Do Not Enter" sign to avoid confusion, with the buses and taxis exceptions sign underneath, along with additional road markings like bus lane only and "No Left Turn" signs.

It is disappointing how governments and councils operate these days, prioritizing profit over helping the public. Despite the numerous ways to improve the situation, councils are making huge profits and not breaking any rules. Therefore, it seems unlikely that they will change their ways.

Although the council may want to reduce congestion in the city centre, this entrapment of motorists is frustrating. In the future, the author plans to stick to clear road signs on dual carriageways and motorways,despite it lengthening the journey.

Similar to this experience, a few years ago, the author encountered issues with parking spaces outside of shops in Heanor marketplace, which deterred him from returning.

No obvious signage stating disabled bays only.

In the absence of any clear signage, it is easy for motorists to fall victim to what seems to be legalised entrapment. This was the case for the writer when they parked in what they thought were free parking spaces, only to later find out that they were disabled bays.

The only indication of this was the faded and broken disabled text on the road, which was barely visible and obstructed by other vehicles. When the writer returned to their car, they found a traffic warden taking pictures of signs which were not clearly visible from their parking spot. The lack of clear visible signage, in this case, seems to be a ploy by councils to generate revenue at the expense of motorists.

This experience, coupled with the previous incident involving confusing road markings and signage, has led the writer to avoid these areas altogether and use longer routes to reach their destination. They feel that the government is winning in reducing congestion, but at the expense of motorists who are left frustrated and out of pocket due to unclear signage and what appears to be legalised entrapment.

The writer has little faith in the system and is wary of paying the fine within 30 days, as they suspect that the letter may not arrive until after the deadline has passed. The author also suggests that the council's actions will have a negative impact on shops in city centres as motorists will avoid these areas to prevent fines. The author believes that this could potentially harm local businesses as it reduces the number of customers coming to the area.

In conclusion, the author of the text has received fines from Derby City Council for allegedly violating road markings and signage. However, the author claims that the signs were either unclear, faded, or non-existent, and that the council is using legalised entrapment to generate revenue from unsuspecting motorists. The author argues that the government and councils prioritize profits over public interest, and that improvements in signage and markings could easily prevent confusion and entrapment, but the council is not interested in making changes. The author suspects that many other motorists across the country have faced similar issues, and believes this is nothing more than an organized crime racket. They plan to pay the fines and avoid the areas altogether in the future, but have also lost trust in the system and suspect the council may delay fine notices to increase penalties.