'Shameful' Harrow Council fines man as he uses bus restriction to rush mother to Northwick Park HospitalA man fined for driving through a bus lane while rushing his elderly mother to hospital says Harrow council is "shameful" for not waiving the punishment.
At 10pm one evening, Peter Gower received a panicked phone call from his 94-year-old mother, who lives on her own in Northwood, after she cut herself and lost a lot of blood.
She was worried about losing consciousness, so Mr Gower dropped what he was doing and - worried that an ambulance may take longer than him - rushed out from his home in Edgware, picked her up and ferried her to Northwick Park Hospital.
On the way, Mr Gower drove through a ‘bus gate’ in Headstone Lane, North Harrow, rather than slow down to pass through a width restriction, and has now been issued with a £130 Penalty Charge Notice.
He said: “I just looked for the quickest route to get my mother to hospital and she was bleeding heavily so I didn’t have the time to slow to an almost complete halt for the width restriction. As it was late at night and quiet on the roads I used the bus gate.
“I wrote a letter of appeal explaining that this was a medical emergency, enclosing supporting papers showing her admission to the hospital and discharge the next day.”
However Harrow council's enforcement officer has dismissed the appeal, stating that the "reason provided cannot be accepted as a mitigating circumstance".
Mr Gower said: “It is time the council was taken to task over its shameful approach to collecting money at every possible turn, regardless of the circumstances.
“The letter they sent me suggested that if it was a medical emergency there were other routes I could have taken to avoid the bus gate and suggested I look at Google Maps, but who has time to open a map in an emergency?
“There are guidelines to suggest the council uses its discretion for fines, and I feel that a medical emergency late at night is one of those occasions.”
A Harrow council spokesman said: “The bus priority route should not be used for personal emergencies. These restrictions are in place to ensure traffic flows quickly and safely.
“If anyone has a medical emergency they are urged to call 999, in which case trained paramedics will attend the situation, and if necessary, rush the person to hospital safely.”
http://www.harrowtimes.co.uk/news/12966993._Shameful__council_fines_man_as_he_rushes_mother_to_hospital/
