Author Topic: Chatham bus gate $chunt - 30/06/2012  (Read 4461 times)

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Offline The Bald Eagle

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Chatham bus gate $chunt - 30/06/2012
« on: 02 July, 2012, 04:42:51 PM »
By the time me and Coco got there Tom Tom had saved 5 motorists from getting tickets in 10 minutes. We parked in Medway Street (the one in the middle of the two bus gates) and went about our business. I went to the top end, where the roundabout and car park are located and was quickly into action. I couldn't help thinking how much the set up there reminded me of the roundabout end at Hemel Hempstead bus gate. So when I was fortunate enough to stop someone committing a contravention, I asked them the same question I used to ask at HH.

Didn't you see the signs?", to which I invariably got the same, or a similar reply, "What signs?".

Deja vu. :bashy: :bashy:

Every now and then I would pop back to the cafe for a P and a T and on these occasions I saw Piggy, NEALR and a young whippersnapper wearing an unmarked hi vis who seemed to have taken to $chunting like a duck to water. It turned out to be Judasp (aka Dave) who lives locally and he had taken the opportunity to pop his $chunting cherry. Woohoo! :dancing: :dancing:

Then another, older gentleman appeared, wearing yet another unmarked hi vis. Like JP he also seemed to take great delight in making motorists aware of the $cameras. It turned out this bloke works at the bus station and had been watching us $chunting all morning with some amusement. ;D So when it came to break time he decided to spend his time with us, and to join in the fun. I get the feeling he might be doing it while we are not there as well. Another Denis in the making perhaps? :dancing:

The support we got from the public was great. In fact one young lady came up to me and was positively gushing about how fantastic we all are, and thanked us repeatedly for the hard work we do. I have to admit I actually started to blush with embarrassment when she was doing this, but it was very nice of her to do so. It's moments like those that make it specially worthwhile.

When I handed over to NEALR to do the final hour at the top end, I joined the others back in Medway Street where I saw another couple chatting with $chunters and watching us with great interest. I had a chat with them and then wandered round taking some photos (see below) and as we were packing up a few more motorists came wandering down Medway Street only to be intercepted by the couple we had been chatting to. Two more potential $chunters perhaps? It wasn't until JP got into their car that it suddenly dawned on me that it was his mum and dad. Doh! :bashy: :bashy: :bashy:

A good day was had by all and we saved 169 souls from receiving the dreaded letter on their (not so) welcome mats next week. At sixty quid a pop that totals £10,140 we saved motorists in a 7.5 hour period, or to put it another way, £1,352 an hour.

I can safely state for the record that on what we witnessed on Saturday, there is something wrong with the signs and lines at this bus station. A letter will be sent to Medway council shortly on behalf of the NTM, in which we will detail the perceived deficiencies and invite them to meet us at the bus gate to witness driver's confusion for themselves. You may recall that we offered the same thing to Herts CC, but they declined, only to end up having to pay back all of their ill gotten gains at great expense to the unfortunate Herts taxpayers.

Incidentally, just in case there are any Medway council people watching, it might interest you to know that we will shortly be meeting officials from Herts CC at the HH bus gate to discuss our experiences and to suggest ways in which they might erect properly enforceable signs and lines. Will you listen to us Medway, or like Herts CC, will you need to be dragged kicking and screaming to the negotiating table?

Anyway, here is a starter for ten. This game is not open to anyone who was there on Saturday to play, because I have already told them the answer.

Below are pictures of the signs that someone at Medway council approved when it was discovered that some people were, according to the council, blindly following their sat navs. It was assumed, of course, that this was the only reason they had committed the offence of going through the bus gate, and the fact that poor signs and lines may have been a contributing factor was paid little, if any regard by the council.

The question is this:

What is it that is so intrinsically wrong with these signs, it makes their message potentially dangerous?
« Last Edit: 02 July, 2012, 04:52:19 PM by The Bald Eagle »
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Offline The Bald Eagle

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Re: Chatham bus gate $chunt - 30/06/2012
« Reply #1 on: 02 July, 2012, 04:47:20 PM »
Sorry about the pics. They were too big and I tried to downsize them, obviously unsuccessfully. :(
« Last Edit: 02 July, 2012, 04:50:50 PM by The Bald Eagle »
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Offline The Bald Eagle

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Re: Chatham bus gate $chunt - 30/06/2012
« Reply #2 on: 02 July, 2012, 04:49:19 PM »
And again
« Last Edit: 02 July, 2012, 04:51:44 PM by The Bald Eagle »
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Nigel W

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Re: Chatham bus gate $chunt - 30/06/2012
« Reply #3 on: 02 July, 2012, 07:07:28 PM »
It sounds like you all had a very worthwhile day.   :aplude: :aplude:

When I was down there the 'Road Layout Changed Do Not Follow Sat-Nav' signs struck me as follows:

If anyone was not intending to turn into the bus station and were following their Sat-Navs to another destination they might then be caused to wrongly turn into the bus station.  The Do Not Follow Sat-Nav sign could have that effect if the Sat Nav told them to go straight on.  The direction to not follow the Sat-Nav would mean that the driver took the only other option of turning to drive through the restriction.

The signs are not TSRGD 2002 compliant signs for this obvious reason.  It would be prudent for any such informative sign to say "Road Layout Changed Do Not Turn Left (or Right) when following Sat-Nav - Camera Enforcement!"

Did I get it right?

Offline tommy the trumpet

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Re: Chatham bus gate $chunt - 30/06/2012
« Reply #4 on: 02 July, 2012, 08:09:00 PM »
Well done everyone, there is so many that drive through not realising what they are doing ( i mean who would just chuck sixty quid at medway deliberately).

If I am down at Chatham I usually spend some time standing at the end of Medway street and always save about half a dozen motorists from contributing to the councillors expenses fund.

Are Medway so stupid as to invite another Hemel onto their doorstep?

It would seem so.
The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.    
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Offline judasp

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Re: Chatham bus gate $chunt - 30/06/2012
« Reply #5 on: 02 July, 2012, 10:06:42 PM »
It was a great well worth day I'm glad I was part of it.
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Offline DastardlyDick

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Re: Chatham bus gate $chunt - 30/06/2012
« Reply #6 on: 02 July, 2012, 10:47:25 PM »
I  was going to say that the signs are not compliant with TSRGD, but Nigel beat me to it!

Offline The Bald Eagle

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Re: Chatham bus gate $chunt - 30/06/2012
« Reply #7 on: 03 July, 2012, 10:58:13 AM »
The signs are not TSRGD compliant, but do not have to be because they are not the ones that are being enforced. So that aspect isn't what I was looking for.

Nigel has got it partially right concerning people whose sat navs are actually taking them in the right direction for the destination that has been set for them, but there are two other aspects that have been missed.

Any ideas?
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Nigel W

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Re: Chatham bus gate $chunt - 30/06/2012
« Reply #8 on: 03 July, 2012, 12:43:05 PM »
An article appeared in the Medway Messenger yesterday (Monday).  This included a large photograph of the Mob at work. 

The article is not online.  Can anyone that has a copy, can scan it and post it please.

Here is the text of the article:

A TRIO of volunteers claims to have stopped £10,000 of fines being issued at Chatham’s new bus station in just one day.

Members of the NoToMob campaign group, which claims many council fines are unfair, flagged down drivers in Medway Street for seven and a half hours on Saturday. Jun30

Cars are banned from the bus station at the end of Medway Street, and people who drive through are sent a £60 fine in the post after being caught by a round-the-clock camera.

The trio redirected 169 cars, which could have meant fines totalling £10,140.

Member Colin Thomas, 63, who travelled to Chatham all the way from Northampton to take part, said: “Everyone said they were very happy to have been stopped. Most of the people I’ve spoken to have been misled by their satellite navigation systems.”

The council, which recently put up signs saying “do not follow sat nav”, insists the bus station is well signposted and all the signs meet legal requirements.

NoToMob members, however, hope to launch a legal challenge to the signs similar to one in Hemel Hempstead earlier this year, when Hertfordshire County Council agreed to pay back more than £1m in fines from a badly-signed bus lane.
« Last Edit: 03 July, 2012, 02:50:55 PM by Nigel W »