"She Was Helping Her Mother Into the Car": Why This Dropped Kerb PCN Was Cancelled

Why This Case Matters

If you've ever pulled up briefly next to a dropped kerb to help an elderly relative out of the car, only to spot a traffic warden walking towards you, this case will feel painfully familiar. Dropped kerb contraventions are among the most commonly issued and most hotly disputed parking tickets in London. Many drivers assume that any stop near a dropped kerb is instantly punishable. This Waltham Forest case shows that's not quite true, and it offers a useful reminder that the law does carve out space for genuine, brief acts of helping a passenger into or out of a vehicle.

It's also a case that busts a couple of persistent myths about how penalty charge notices (PCNs) are issued, which is worth knowing even if you never set foot near a dropped kerb.

The Case: What Happened

The driver in this case had taken her mother, who was recovering from a fall and needed a leg dressing changed, to a nearby surgery and then on to the Co-op chemist to collect medicine. On the way back, she parked near a dropped kerb while her mother returned to the car.

A council enforcement officer observed two women walking back towards the vehicle and issued a PCN for the contravention "parked adjacent to a dropped footway". The officer then handed the ticket directly to the driver in person.

The driver appealed. She attended the tribunal hearing in person, accompanied by a friend, Mr Rason, who helped present her case. She also submitted a signed witness statement from her mother confirming the sequence of events.

The Arguments

The driver's case rested on two strands. First, she queried the validity of how the PCN had been served, apparently suggesting that a penalty notice needed to be placed on the vehicle rather than handed to her directly. Second, and more substantively, she explained that the stop was connected to getting her mother to a medical appointment and then to a pharmacy to collect medicine, a journey made necessary by her mother's fall.

The council's position, implicit in having issued the PCN, was that the vehicle had been parked adjacent to a dropped footway, a contravention that normally attracts an automatic penalty regardless of the driver's reasons for stopping.

Neither side disputed the basic facts: the car was parked by a dropped kerb, and the officer saw two women, one of whom was confirmed as the appellant's mother, walking back to the vehicle.

The Decision

The adjudicator allowed the appeal.

Crucially, the decision did not rest on the pharmacy trip. The adjudicator was explicit that a driver's need to collect medicine from a chemist does not create any special exemption from dropped kerb rules, however sympathetic the circumstances. If that had been the only basis for the appeal, it would have failed.

Instead, the appeal succeeded because the adjudicator accepted that, at the precise moment the car was parked by the dropped kerb, the driver was in fact assisting her mother to board the vehicle, and that this process hadn't taken an excessive amount of time. That set of facts, the adjudicator found, fell squarely within what's known as the "limited passenger boarding exemption" that applies in dropped kerb cases.

The adjudicator also dismissed the driver's suggestion about how PCNs must be delivered, calling it "common urban folklore nonsense" and confirming that an officer handing a PCN directly to a driver is a perfectly valid and indeed highly effective way of serving the notice.

The Legal Reasoning, Explained

Let's unpack the two legal threads in this decision.

1. There's no "good reason" exemption for most parking rules

A huge number of failed parking appeals come down to drivers believing that a sympathetic reason for stopping, collecting medicine, dropping off a vulnerable relative, running into a shop for two minutes, should excuse a contravention. It almost never does. Traffic regulations are generally enforced regardless of motive. The adjudicator was careful to shut this door early, confirming that needing to collect a prescription "because of a need for collecting medicine from a retail pharmacy" does not amount to grounds for cancellation.

This matters because it shows how narrowly tribunals interpret exemptions. Sympathy for a driver's situation doesn't translate into a legal defence unless that situation fits within a specific, recognised exception.

2. The passenger boarding exemption is narrow but real

Dropped kerbs exist primarily to allow pedestrians, wheelchair users and people with pushchairs to cross the road safely, particularly those with mobility needs. Parking rules generally prohibit stopping next to them because it blocks that access. However, most local authorities' rules (and the underlying Traffic Management Act framework) recognise that vehicles must sometimes stop briefly to let passengers get in or out, including passengers who need extra time or assistance.

This exemption typically covers only the act of boarding or alighting, not an extended stop for any other purpose. The adjudicator's reasoning turned entirely on timing and purpose: at the moment the enforcement officer observed the vehicle, the driver was actively helping her mother into the car, and this didn't take an unreasonable length of time. That narrow window of activity was enough to bring the stop within the exemption.

It's a useful illustration of how much weight tribunals place on the precise sequence of events, not the broader journey or its purpose, but what was actually happening at the moment the PCN was issued.

3. Personal service of a PCN is entirely valid

The driver's argument that PCNs must be affixed to a vehicle rather than handed over in person was given short shrift. Enforcement officers are legally entitled to hand a PCN directly to a driver if they're present when the contravention is observed. In fact, as the adjudicator noted, this is arguably more reliable than leaving a notice on a windscreen, where it could blow away, get rained on, or simply go unnoticed.

Lessons for Drivers

Sympathetic circumstances alone rarely win appeals. If your reason for stopping was convenience, an appointment, or an errand, however understandable, it's unlikely to succeed as a standalone argument. Appeals need to engage with the actual legal exemptions that apply to the specific contravention.

Timing and activity at the moment of the stop can be decisive. In dropped kerb cases, what matters most is what was happening when the enforcement officer made their observation. If you were genuinely assisting a passenger to board or alight, and this didn't take excessive time, that's a materially different situation from parking there for any other reason.

Witness evidence strengthens a case. The signed statement from the driver's mother, confirming the sequence of events, gave the adjudicator independent corroboration rather than relying solely on the driver's own account. If you're appealing on similar grounds, written statements from anyone involved can carry real weight.

Don't waste appeal grounds on myths. Challenging how a PCN was served, insisting it had to be left on the windscreen rather than handed over, is not a winning argument and can distract from stronger points. It's worth understanding the actual rules around a contravention before building an appeal around assumptions. Our guide to PCN code 27 for dropped footway contraventions sets out how these specific rules work in more detail.

Bring support to the hearing if you need it. The driver attended with a friend who helped present the case. Tribunals are designed to be accessible without needing a solicitor, and having someone help organise your evidence and arguments can make a real difference.

Key Takeaway

A good reason for being parked by a dropped kerb isn't enough on its own. What wins appeals is showing that your stop fits within a genuine legal exemption, such as briefly helping a passenger board or alight, backed up by clear, specific evidence of what was actually happening at the time.