At a glance
• A van driver is appealing two £180 fines for unknowingly failing to pay new tolls at London’s Blackwall and Silvertown tunnels, claiming there was insufficient signage to warn drivers about the charges
• The tolls, introduced in April by Mayor Sadiq Khan to ease congestion, charge £1.50–£4 per trip
• TfL says more than 40 Department for Transport–approved signs and a public information campaign were in place
A van driver has appealed against two £180 fines for failing to pay the Blackwall and Silvertown tunnel tolls – saying he was unable to spot any road signs warning about the new levies.
His case is one of a number due to be heard next week by an adjudicator at London Tribunals, the independent organisation that rules on complaints from motorists about Transport for London’s road user charges.
He said he was “totally shocked” to receive two penalty charge notices in the post about a week after his work trip to London.
“You are going to pay the toll if you know about it,” he said. “There is no way you are going to want to pay the fine by choice.
“But there is not enough notice [of the tolls] for drivers as they come into London.”
Tolls have been imposed at the two road tunnels under the Thames since London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan opened the Silvertown tunnel on April 7, as part of efforts to reduce delays to motorists using the congested Blackwall tunnel.
Drivers are charged £1.50 per trip during charging hours and £4 at peak times. Those who fail to pay receive a £180 penalty charge notice.
The Standard revealed last month that about 500,000 penalty tickets have been issued to motorists for failing to pay the tolls – of which more than half relate to vehicles registered outside London.
The driver bringing the appeal, who has asked not to be named, is a carpenter and builder living in Norfolk.
He took his case to the tribunal after TfL rejected an initial appeal – and his suggestion that it use digital signboards to alert drivers to the tolls.
He said: “Judging by the 237,408 outside London users who have been also issued fines, I am not alone in my apparent blindness to TfL signage.”
The former Londoner told The Standard that he had driven to Greenwich in his Ulez-compliant Volkswagen Transporter van in mid-October and had been directed by his satnav through the Silvertown tunnel, which links Canning Town with the Greenwich peninsula.
He said: “I don’t come to London very often and I didn’t even know about the Silvertown tunnel – I didn't know that it existed.
“The satnav took me straight through the tunnel. It didn’t tell me anything about tariffs. I always used to use the Blackwall tunnel in the old days and it just didn’t occur to me that they’re now charging for it.
“I do go over the Dartford crossing [on the M25] quite a lot and I always pay for that.”
He returned home via the Blackwall tunnel the following day.
The Blackwall tunnel is tolled at the same rate as the nearby Silvertown tunnel, to prevent drivers diverting from one to the other. This is the first time since it opened in 1897 that drivers have had to pay to use it.
The driver said: “The fines are way too large anyway for these tunnels. You can’t be expected to pay for things you aren’t aware of. I had a passenger with me and he also said ‘I didn’t see anything’.
“I have to make the public aware of this. It’s not right and it needs something done about it.”
TfL said that more than 40 road signs were installed on the entrances and on the approaches to the both the Silvertown and Blackwall tunnels.
It said the warning signs on the approach to the tunnels also inform drivers of their final chance to turn off before entering the tunnel.
A TfL spokesperson said: “The vast majority of drivers are already complying with the Silvertown and Blackwall tunnel charges, following a comprehensive customer information campaign across multiple channels to raise awareness of the charges and options, including Auto Pay.
“This is complemented by the clear and extensive road signage, which has been approved by the Department for Transport. The signage is at all the entrances to the tunnels, begins four miles away and signals the last opportunity to turn off to avoid the charge.
“Income from these charges and any enforcement activity are used for the operation, maintenance, and repayment costs for the tunnels with any surplus reinvested back into the wider public transport network.”
