Top solicitor Dudu Mehemt Ozoran to take on scourge of CCTV camera in Riversdale Road
Published: 30 July, 2010
by PETER GRUNER
A LEADING Highbury solicitor is joining a campaign to remove one of the borough’s traffic cameras which is “stinging” confused drivers out of millions of pounds a year.
Dudu Mehemt Ozoran, whose firm of solicitors is situated opposite the CCTV camera in Riversdale Road, off Green Lanes, said she is fed up with her clients regularly receiving tickets because the traffic width restriction barrier is so badly marked.
She spoke out after motorist David Burr, from East Sussex, who was fined £60 for entering the centre of the restriction zone, launched an appeal against Islington council, who operate the scheme.
Mr Burr, using the Freedom of Information Act (FoI), discovered that 2,389 motorists had been caught on camera making the same mistake in the past six months.
The restriction allows cars and vans less than 6ft 6in wide to pass through two narrow lanes on either side of the road.
But there is no sign banning vehicles from driving through a large gap in the middle – which is for dust carts and the emergency services.
Last year, under a previous FoI request, it was revealed that 10,775 tickets – worth a total of £1.29million – were issued between March 6 and August 31.
Ms Mehemt Ozoran said the camera was simply a way for the council to make money out of confused drivers.
She added: “What happens when you are turning into the scheme from Green Lanes and you don’t think your vehicle will get through on either side of the barrier?
“Your natural inclination is to drive through the gap in the centre. There’s nothing telling you that you can’t.
“The whole thing is bewildering and set up as a trap for motorists.”
Tim Newark, from Islington Taxpayers Alliance, said the camera also penalises commercial vehicles which are forced to use the centre because they don’t fit in the lanes on either side.
“The whole scheme needs to be re-thought,” he said. “We expect clarity and fairness from the council. Why should the motorist be clouted for making a mistake?”
Islington Council insists that the width restriction complies with regulations.
A spokeswoman said: “There is clear and adequate signage and street markings on all approaches to Riversdale Road to warn drivers about the width restriction.
“However, anyone issued with a penalty charge notice is welcome to appeal and each case will be assessed on its own merit.”