Code 38 PCN Appeal: Keep-Left and Keep-Right Signs

1. What does contravention Code 38 mean?

Code 38 means that your vehicle is alleged to have passed on the wrong side of a keep-left or keep-right sign. The sign is a blue circle with one white arrow pointing diagonally downwards. Down-left means pass to the left of the sign; down-right means pass to its right.

The allegation often arises at a traffic island or a narrow gap beside a bollard. Code 38l identifies a requirement to pass to the left and Code 38r to the right. Passing through a wider gap on the other side can establish the contravention even when the road is empty.

Contravention

Code 38: failing to comply with a sign requiring traffic to pass on its specified side

Typical restrictions

Keep-left or keep-right signs on traffic islands, pedestrian refuges, central reservations and width-restriction layouts

Main evidence

The front of the diagonal-arrow sign, the side passed on CCTV, approach visibility, bollard condition and any obstruction

Penalty amount

London: £160, reduced to £80 during the initial discount period. England outside London: £60 or £70, reduced to £30 or £35, according to the applicable charging band. Follow the notice for Wales and the discount deadline.

Representations

For a London Code 38 PCN, the authority must receive your representation within 28 days of service of the PCN

Appeal route

Formal representations to the issuing authority; after rejection, London Tribunals in London or the Traffic Penalty Tribunal under the relevant schemes elsewhere

2. Which signs apply, and what does either side mean?

Diagram 610 is the keep-left or keep-right sign. It directs traffic past the side of the sign indicated by its single diagonal arrow. Check the sign front facing your approach, not an arrow intended for traffic coming the other way.

Diagram 611 shows two downward arrows. It is an information sign indicating that traffic can pass either side and reach the same destination immediately beyond. It is not a keep-left restriction, and a photograph of 611 cannot by itself establish a failure to obey 610.

Straight left, right or ahead arrows at a junction, and bent turn-ahead arrows, give a different instruction. Those are diagrams 606 and 609, normally relevant to Code 32. Do not confuse turning at a junction with passing on a specified side of a sign.

3. What must the authority prove?

The evidence must identify the relevant sign and show your vehicle passing on the prohibited side. The presence of a bollard or a narrow gap does not, on its own, explain which instruction your vehicle was alleged to have disobeyed.

• The actual sign: establish a diagram 610 arrow facing the vehicle's approach and the side it required traffic to use. A plain bollard or diagram 611 is not interchangeable with it.
• The recorded passage: the complete CCTV should identify the vehicle, approach, sign and side passed. Check whether the recording or supporting photographs genuinely establish the sign front at the incident date.
• A readable approach: compare dated photographs with the recording for damage, rotation, parked vehicles, foliage or temporary works. Where a width restriction is involved, examine advance warnings and the point at which a driver could still change route.
• The applicable lighting rule: a sign on a road above 20 mph and within 50 metres of a street-lighting lamp is subject to the conditional direct-lighting requirements in Schedule 3 Part 4 paragraph 4. Self-righting bollards and temporary roadworks signs have specified exceptions; an internally lit bollard has its own requirement.
• The legal basis: diagram 610 can be used without a traffic order. If the authority also relies on an order for a width restriction or other control, check its actual terms and extent rather than assuming the missing order alone defeats the keep-left allegation.
• Liability and notice: check the PCN description, service and liable owner. A vehicle identity, ownership or hire dispute needs the relevant photographs or dated documents.

4. Grounds for appealing a Code 38 PCN

Choose the issue that the evidence can establish. Explain why it changes whether your vehicle contravened this sign, rather than simply saying that the wider route seemed easier.

• The wrong sign or side has been identified: show the actual arrow, your approach and the route taken. Check whether the sign was 610 or the two-arrow 611.
• The keep-left or keep-right instruction was not adequately visible: provide photographs or footage showing a damaged, turned, obscured or poorly visible sign and the relevant conditions at the time.
• A width-restriction approach was inadequately explained: identify unreadable or missing warning evidence and show where the driver could last have chosen another route. This depends on the particular layout, not a universal requirement for an extra warning sign.
• A genuine obstruction left no realistic safe alternative: document the parked or stopped vehicles, available gap, vehicle dimensions and why turning back was not practicable. Difficulty judging the gap or preferring the wider route is not the same issue.
• A specific exception or police direction applied: explain the vehicle's qualifying use or the direction given, with supporting records. Do not rely on an assumed exemption for all urgent journeys.
• The vehicle was not yours, you were not the liable owner, it was used without consent, or a qualifying hire transfers liability: attach evidence appropriate to the ground.

5. Exceptions, blocked routes and mitigation

TSRGD makes specific provision for vehicles used for listed purposes, including ambulance, fire and police work, where obeying the keep-side requirement would be likely to hinder that use. The replacement requirement is that the vehicle must not pass beyond the sign in a manner or at a time likely to endanger anyone. The ordinary keep-side requirement also does not apply to tramcars or trolley vehicles.

A Blue Badge, Motability vehicle, delivery or wide vehicle is not a general exemption from a keep-left sign. A private journey to help an unwell passenger does not automatically satisfy the listed emergency-purpose provisions.

Where parked vehicles, an incident or police directions affected the route, explain exactly what happened and support it with the full recording, photographs or other records. The allowed obstruction example below turned on the adjudicator's finding that there was no realistic alternative; it was not permission for every large vehicle to use the other gap.

If your circumstances amount to mitigation rather than a legal ground, ask the authority to exercise discretion and provide evidence. London adjudicators cannot allow an appeal on general mitigation alone. Correcting the route after passing the sign does not necessarily undo the first passage.

6. How to make a formal representation

For a London Code 38 PCN, submit formal representations to the issuing authority using the details on the notice. London Tribunals states they must be received "within 28 days of the date the Penalty Charge Notice is served".

Outside London, use the submission route and deadline on the notice under the applicable English or Welsh scheme.

1. Open the official evidence and challenge portal shown on the PCN. Enter the notice reference and vehicle registration.
2. Watch the whole recording and identify the sign front, arrow direction and side your vehicle passed. Keep evidence of the approach, lighting or obstruction if disputed.
3. State the ground and explain the specific issue: wrong sign or side, unclear signing, inadequate approach warning, unavoidable obstruction, exception or liability. Attach photographs, a marked plan and any relevant documents.
4. Identify any missing footage or dated sign evidence needed to resolve the point. Submit by the deadline and retain the representation, attachments and dated acknowledgement.

7. How long does the authority have to respond?

London Tribunals states that the authority "should normally respond to representations within 3 months".

For formal representations under England's 2022 regulations outside London, the authority must serve its decision within 56 days of receiving them. Welsh Government guidance also states a 56-day response period under the separate Welsh regulations.

8. Check the Notice of Rejection and evidence

The Notice of Rejection should explain the authority's decision and give the tribunal appeal instructions. Check whether it addresses the actual dispute: the arrow facing your approach, its visibility, the side passed or the obstruction that affected your route.

For a width-restriction case, compare the warning photographs with your approach and the available turn before the island. For a lighting dispute, check whether the evidence identifies the bollard type and conditions at the time. If an exception was raised, read the response against the specific provision relied on.

Record the date of service and the appeal deadline. Keep the PCN, representation, acknowledgement, rejection and evidence together. Review any tribunal evidence pack for gaps or differences from the material already supplied.

9. Taking a Code 38 appeal to the tribunal

For a London PCN, register your appeal with London Tribunals within 28 days beginning with service of the Notice of Rejection. Use its verification details, select the relevant ground and explain how the sign, passage or approach evidence supports your case.

Outside London, the Traffic Penalty Tribunal handles the relevant English and Welsh schemes. Use the appeal details in the rejection. Both tribunals are independent and normally charge no appeal fee; if the appeal is refused, the full penalty is normally payable.

Organise the evidence around the island: your approach, the sign front, the required gap and the recorded route. If an obstruction matters, show why a different route or a safe turn was not realistically available. Link any earlier decision to that specific issue rather than assuming the same location guarantees the same result.

2025 London Tribunals Code 38 results

34 of 194 recorded cases were allowed (17.5%).