A COUNTY Durham bus lane which caught more than 3,700 drivers in the past year has seen the majority of appeals successfully upheld against the council, data has revealed.
A Freedom of Information request, submitted by The Northern Echo, has shown 80 per cent of fines relating to North Road in Durham which were appealed were cancelled.
The data showed that a total of 3,718 Penalty Charge Notices were handed out by Durham County Council between January 1 and October 1, this year.
But a total of 693 fines were appealed by drivers, with 552 such fines cancelled in favour of the driver following successful representation.
The City Centre road is normally operational Picture: SARAH CALDECOTT
While the vast majority of appeals were successful, a total of 139 fines were rejected and a further two cases appealed to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal were thrown out.
READ MORE: Bus lane in Durham slammed after council issues 8,000 fines in first month
It comes as Durham County Council came under scrutiny after The Echo revealed that 8,000 fines had been issued to drivers using a new bus lane in just one month.
The Quarryheads Lane 'bus gate', near the City Centre, had been criticised for "catching drivers out" after enforcement cameras were turned on in September.
It prompted comments from a county councillor who said the number of drivers being caught on a daily basis did not seem "quite right".
READ MORE: Council urged to "double-check" Durham bus lane fines after 8,000 issued
But in response to the findings on North Road, the council said the high number of successful appeals had been down to "exempt vehicles" where the council does not hold its details.
Dave Wafer, head of transport and contract services at Durham County Council, said: “Similar to other councils, we use detection cameras to prevent bus lane misuse - something that can impact on road safety and has been a regular source of complaints.
“North Road has been a pedestrian area for many years and the majority of cancelled PCN at this location relate to exempt vehicles for which we do not hold details.
"This includes Hackney carriages from outside of the area or hire vehicles used for highway maintenance.”
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