Using restricted roads when a journey could/should have been taken entirely by the use of excluded route network. This is regarded as a serious breach, because in these cases "minimal use" of restricted roads means zero. For example, going to the Sainsbury's depot in Lombard Wall, Charlton SE7. This destination must be reached entirely by the use of Excluded Roads, which is approaching off the A102 near the Blackwall Tunnel, via either Dreadnought Street, or Peartree Way, both of which are Excluded, onto the Excluded Bugsby Way. Lombard Wall is off Bugsby Way. This is the fully compliant route, but drivers fall foul by coming off the A102 onto the restricted section of the A206 Woolwich Road. This small section of road is residential, highly complaint sensitive and can easily be avoided, so we will issue a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) for this, even if the vehicle has a permit.
Shortcutting. This is coming off the ERN too soon. An example of this is a vehicle travelling west on the A406, destination Park Royal. This destination must be approached either from Abbey Road, or northbound from the A40. But, instead of staying on the A406 to these exits, drivers tend to turn off too soon and head south from the A406, via Brentfield Road.
Traversing. This is joining up Excluded Roads, by the use of restricted roads. An example of this is a vehicle on the M11, destination Brewery Road N7. Instead of travelling round the A406, then south on the A1 to A501 and north up the A5200 York Way, drivers turn off at Pickett Lock, come south on A1055 to A10 at Tottenham Hale. Then turn west onto the A503 Seven Sisters Road and travel all the way to the A1. All that distance travelled on the A503 to "join up" the A10 and A1 is additional restricted road usage, not minimal use and therefore not in compliance.
Unnecessary journey. This is using the restricted roads during the prescribed hours when the delivery is say, 9am. Even in London's traffic it does not take 2 hours to reach any delivery/pick up point from the ERN, so a driver does not need to be travelling on restricted roads during the prescribed hours for a delivery/pick up scheduled so long after the controlled hours end. This aspect of the rules is primarily aimed at those drivers and operators who come in early to beat congestion. Permits are not issued to allow drivers to come in early, park up somewhere near the intended destination, then carry on after the controlled hours have ended. This is regarded as abuse of permit issue and we will issue a PCN for this, in the same way as if the vehicle is caught off route.
When a vehicle has no destination in London and the M25 should be used. Recent examples include a vehicle travelling from Nottingham to Dover, caught driving south on the A5 Kilburn High Road. The most commonly occurring journeys include the Woolwich Ferry, particularly at weekends. The access roads to the ferry are restricted on both sides of the river. But drivers travelling from, say, Essex to destinations in Kent, or vice versa, instead of using the M25 (particularly if they have to pay the toll at the Dartford Crossing) take the opportunity of a free trip across the river, via the ferry. This is a clear-cut breach because the vehicle had no business in London at all.
