How to Challenge a Code 37 PCN: Give Way to Oncoming Vehicles

What a Code 37 PCN Alleges

Code 37 alleges failure to give way to oncoming vehicles at a signed priority restriction, often a narrow bridge or traffic-calming feature. The evidence needs to show what happened between your vehicle and the traffic with priority, not merely that both appeared in the same camera view.

Challenge the Postal Moving-Traffic PCN

A moving-traffic PCN normally arrives by post with access to the camera evidence. Read the contravention description and legislation together: the code identifies the allegation, but does not by itself identify every procedural rule.

• London, under the London Local Authorities and Transport for London Act 2003: make formal representations to the issuing authority against the PCN. Do not wait for a Notice to Owner or a bus-lane Enforcement Notice.
• England outside London, under the 2022 civil-enforcement regulations: the postal PCN invites formal representations directly. Request the recording promptly and submit your representations within the applicable period even if an evidence request is still outstanding.
• Wales: use the Welsh legislation and representation instructions on the postal PCN. The English 2022 regulations should not be quoted as though they govern a Welsh notice.
• If the authority accepts the representations, it cancels the penalty. A Notice of Rejection explains how to appeal to the independent tribunal; an informal email exchange is not a substitute for that formal decision.

London Tribunals explains the 2003 Act procedure; the Traffic Penalty Tribunal explains the process outside London. A separate guide covers code 34 bus-lane notices, including London's additional Enforcement Notice stage.

Moving-Traffic Representation and Decision Deadlines

For a London 2003 Act PCN, the representation period is 28 days beginning with service of the notice. Its payment period runs from the date of the notice, and the initial discount period is 14 days from that date. These are different starting points; calculate the deadline for the action you are taking.

• England outside London: representations under the 2022 regulations must normally be made within 28 days beginning with service. An approved-device postal PCN has a 21-day discount period beginning with service. Check the notice and any express re-offer of the discount.
• The DfT's statutory guidance for England outside London requires the authority to serve its decision on qualifying representations within 56 days of receiving them. That is not a universal deadline for every email or every UK traffic scheme.
• For London moving-traffic representations, London Tribunals says the authority should normally respond within three months. Do not import the English 2022 statutory 56-day test into a 2003 Act case.
• After a Notice of Rejection, the normal tribunal appeal period is 28 days beginning with service. Keep the notice and submission confirmation so the relevant dates can be established.

Do not assume that asking for CCTV freezes a deadline or that making representations guarantees another discount offer. Use the current notice and any written confirmation from the authority. Welsh notices must be checked against their own regulations and stated dates.

Evidence Showing Both Directions of Traffic

• The uncut camera sequence showing the priority point and approaching vehicle.
• Timestamped stills locating both vehicles before and during passage.
• A road plan and approach photographs identifying the sign, narrowing and waiting point.
• Dashcam or witness evidence explaining any traffic direction or obstruction.

Do not measure the case solely by whether a collision occurred. Equally, the presence of a distant approaching vehicle is not a complete explanation of the alleged failure. Analyse the priority requirement and actual movements together.

What Happened at the Priority Point?

• The recording does not show a failure to give priority. Identify where each vehicle was when you passed the relevant sign or waiting point and how their movements developed.
• The oncoming vehicle was not affected in the way alleged. Examine whether it slowed, stopped or altered course because of your movement, and explain the sequence rather than asserting the road looked clear.
• The sign did not face or govern the approach used. Show the complete narrowing, sign orientation and any waiting line.
• Traffic was being directed under an authorised temporary arrangement. Provide dated evidence of the instruction and its relationship to the manoeuvre.

An indication from another driver should be described accurately but is not a blanket exemption from a regulatory sign. A genuine emergency or an obstruction should be evidenced and considered against the actual requirement; following the car in front does not transfer its opportunity to proceed to you.

What to Include in a Code 37 Representation

Give a short, neutral timeline for both vehicles. Identify the frame where the council says you should have waited and explain what the recording establishes at that point. Avoid guessing the other driver's intention.

Send the Representations to the Issuing Authority

Use the representation portal or postal address printed on the PCN. Include the reference, vehicle registration, your explanation and the evidence supporting the particular ground. Save the completed text, attachments and dated acknowledgement; a request to view footage is not necessarily registered as representations.

The notice is normally addressed to the person pursued as owner. If you were not the owner at the relevant time, or the vehicle was hired under an agreement that permits liability to be transferred, use the corresponding statutory ground and supporting documents. Simply identifying another driver does not automatically transfer a council PCN.

Appeal a Moving-Traffic Notice of Rejection

Read the authority's reasons alongside the footage and your representations. An appeal goes to London Tribunals for the London scheme, or the Traffic Penalty Tribunal for the relevant English or Welsh scheme. Address the disputed movement, restriction or exemption rather than submitting a different generic appeal.

An allowed appeal cancels the penalty. If it is refused, follow the decision's payment instructions. Ignoring a rejection or decision can lead to a Charge Certificate increasing the penalty by 50%, followed by debt registration and an Order for Recovery. An Order for Recovery has specific procedural remedies; it is not simply another opportunity to repeat the original traffic argument.