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Driver Receives Fine for Passing Through Clear Air Zone, He Was 145 Miles Away

A driver in the UK received a fine for passing through a Clean Air Zone in Birmingham. But the thing is, the 73-year-old claims he was actually at home in Hampshire, 145 miles away.
Car Emissions 6 photos
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Car FineCar FineClear Air Zone FineVauxhall AntaraVauxhall Antara
Sometimes, there’s no other option but to get a fine if you break the law. Texting and driving is one of the most common examples, along with overspeeding.

But there are times when the fines aren’t appropriate or don’t apply to the person who received them. This is the case of Philip Morton, 73, from the UK, who received a fine through the post which claims his vehicle passed through Hall Street in Birmingham city center on December 10 at 8.55 am.

The catch? The pensioner claims he was getting ready to watch his eight-year-old grandson in his school nativity play which was 145 miles away from the place where he allegedly had been, as he lives in Hampshire, UK. He added that the supposed photographic evidence doesn’t even show his car, let alone his registration plates.

While he drives a gray Vauxhall Antara, which should have appeared in the footage, the image showed a red Vauxhall Corsa.

The driver believes the camera misread the letter D in the registration and thought it was an O, and that's how he ended up with a wrongful fine.

He told Birmingham Live: "It was on the standard printed form saying that the registration number of my vehicle had been in the zone on December 10 at 8.54 am on Hall Street, in Great Hampton Row."

He added: "At first I thought somebody had cloned my car registration but I got on to the council website and when I put in the PCN and registration, I saw it was a red Vauxhall Corsa." He added: "The camera had read the number plate incorrectly- it's the same registration except for one letter. It had read the 'D' as an 'O'."

The UK introduced the Clear Air Zone in 2021, and drivers might have to pay a fine when passing through if their vehicle doesn’t match the standard emissions.
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About the author: Monica Coman
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Imagine a Wenn diagram for cars and celebrities. At the intersection you'll find Monica, putting her passion for these fields and English-Spanish double major to work. She's been doing for the past seven years, most recently at autoevolution.
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