Thousands of drivers could receive compensation for faulty road traffic sign on major road
Thousands of drivers could be eligible to receive compensation after paying a speeding fine ticket issued on a major road after claims that temporary speed limit signs were installed at half the required size.
It comes after an estimated 60,000 drivers were hit with penalties from a speed limit on the A20 near Sidcup when it was reduced from 70mph to 40mph in October 2023.
Thomas Turrell, Conservative London Assembly Member for Bexley and Bromley, has since claimed that Transport for London deliberately put up smaller signs measuring at just 450mm wide, instead of the mandatory 900mm specified in regulations.
However, this is a claim TfL has strongly denied and instead insisted that all signage was fully compliant with regulations.
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The temporary speed reduction was implemented after dangerous flooding on the A20 caused multiple vehicles to skid off the road, with one car sliding into a nearby petrol station.
Officials had identified blocked roadside drains as the source of hazardous flooding conditions along the stretch of road. To prevent future incidents a 40mph limit was put in place for a 12-month period until the drainage issues could be resolved.
“This isn’t a handful of Top Gear enthusiasts who have ignored the signage,” Turrell told The Telegraph. “This is a huge amount of people who have been hit by this, and lots of people would not have even realised they’d done anything wrong.”
But photos taken by Turrell’s constituents appear to show 40mph signs installed on the A20 that measure just 450mm in width.
According to the Government’s Traffic Signs Manual, speed limit signs in areas of up to 40mph should be at least 750mm wide.
Turrell claimed motorists were misled about the true speed limit during the 12-month period leading up to October 2024.
Nick Freeman, a motoring lawyer known as “Mr Loophole,” supported these claims, stating the signs were “definitely too small” and that “obviously, if they’re tiny, the motorist can’t read them.”
Despite the claims made about the signage, TfL has strongly rejected allegations of non-compliance, maintaining that safety is their “number one priority.”
A TfL spokesman said: “New regular speed limit signage, compliant with all traffic sign regulations, was installed to ensure that everyone driving on this stretch of road was aware of the new limit.”
The transport authority explained the 40mph limit was introduced in response to “a number of incidents caused by ongoing flooding issues, which posed a risk to life”.
“All signage installed by TfL for the 40mph speed limit was correct and compliant with the regulations,” the spokesman added.
Among those affected was LBC radio presenter Iain Dale, whose criminal trial over a speeding offence collapsed earlier this month when the key police witness failed to attend.
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Dale claimed there was “apparently only one small 40mph sign over the left” side of the road, describing it as “invisible at night”.
The minimum penalty for speeding is a £100 fine and three penalty points added to a driving licence, but in some cases, there is the option to attend a speed awareness course.