A motorist fined for driving through a bus lane in Gateshead town centre has said he was left with "no alternative" but to use it. Gerard Mouille, 69, from South Gosforth, was caught in the northbound High Street bus lane on the night of September 11 as he returned home from a trip to Gateshead's Tesco Extra.
Mr Mouille has criticised Gateshead Council over what he believes were "unclear" road signs around the town centre while the A167 flyover was being demolished. However, the council said that at the time of the infringement, a diversion was in place due to an overnight closure of the Park Lane roundabout ahead of the Great North Run, with signage installed and changes publicised on social media.
Driver describes being left with no choice
Footage of the incident, seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, shows a queue of vehicles all driving in the bus lane at the time Mr Mouille was caught. The pensioner claims that there "must have been a problem" if so many drivers were making the same error he did.
The maximum fine for bus lane infractions in Gateshead is £70, though this can be reduced by half if paid within 21 days. After driving around the same loop twice, Mr Mouille decided he had "no choice" but to drive through the bus lane at the end of the High Street and connect to the bridge.
He said: "I left the car park, turned left onto the A184 and turned left at the roundabout, then followed the diversion signs that I could see and turned onto Gateshead High Street. I ended up facing the small bus gate with the traffic lights, where I had been the first time.
"So I turned left towards the Tesco car park to go round again, thinking I had made a mistake, and I ended up at the same place. At the bus gate traffic lights, many vehicles were waiting for the green light. I decided I had no choice; I needed to go home through the Tyne Bridge, and I went through the gate. There were no taxis or buses going through, just normal vehicles.
"I know I went through the bus gate, but I did not have any choice. I was not offered an alternative to that. I may have made a mistake, which was after 10pm, in the dark, and I might have missed the signage for another option of getting out. It is possible."
Council responds to bus lane fine
Mr Mouille continued: "The thing is, for the fraction I committed, I was not the only one; I was stuck in a queue of vehicles. They must realise that if so many vehicles and drivers have been committing that kind of infraction, there must have been a problem there."
A spokesperson for Gateshead Council said: "When this driver reported driving through the High Street bus lane, there was a diversion in place at the junction of Charles Street and the High Street in Gateshead, due to an overnight closure of the Park Lane roundabout, ahead of the Great North Run.
"This was publicised via our Facebook page. Motorists using Charles Street were signposted to use High Street and Jackson Street to circle back to the Bensham roundabout. If anybody feels the signage was not adequate, they can of course appeal any Penalty Charge Notice they receive.
"To assist drivers leaving the Trinity Square Gateshead car park, Gateshead Council did change the layout of Lambton Street in June this year, to allow drivers to turn left or right on exiting the car park, and so avoiding the need to drive via the Bensham roundabout and A184, as was previously the case."
