Motorist fined £50 for a 30-second drop-off

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Retired deputy headteacher Peter Whaley estimates he paused for 30 seconds at Ealing Broadway Tube station.

But he was caught on a remote CCTV camera and fined by Ealing council for parking at a bus stop. The penalty works out at almost £1.70 per second.

The case comes a week after the Standard reported how Nick Tubbs was fined £120 when he pulled over in a Westminster street for one minute and 23 seconds to take a mobile phone call.

Mr Whaley, 59, from Totteridge, said: "There was no one around and I didn't hold anyone up or block anybody off and I did not even turn the engine off.

"I knew I was on a bus stop but how can this everyday courtesy to my wife result in this? It only took under 30 seconds."

Mr Whaley, whose wife Janet is a retired headteacher, added: "It seems they are trying to catch people out instead of helping their residents."

AA president Edmund King said: "The state has so much power that we lose touch with reasonableness and common sense."

A spokesman for Ealing council said: "Motorists are not allowed to stop in bus stops to drop off or pick up passengers.

"The rules are very clear in the Highway Code and in the Traffic Signs and Regulations and General Directions 2002.

"If motorists were allowed to stop in bus stops even for a few seconds, this could cause severe delays to the public transport network."
ends.