http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-New ... 7137?f=rss

Headline's obviously awful , but I don't drive, so what do you make of the fees there?

The police should have advised them to leave the cars on the hard shoulder, then removed any cars that didn't comply. I suspect though, that if there's three lanes of traffic at a standstill, they're not going to fit on the hard shoulder, so it's a bit of an outrage really.

If only they had winter tyres!

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Or breakdown cover. They were given 24 hours to recover the vehicles, which should have been long enough.

+1. I'd be pretty miffed if I were told to abandon my car by the police and then fined £150 for doing so. On the other hand, if the police had actually said to park on the hard shoulder and I did not comply, I should not be amazed at being fined.

Agreed.

no buses or taxis
god knows how long a walk
no second vehicle
breakdown services overwhelmed

i gave someone a lift back to there car on the way to pick the wife up from work
they only had 4 miles or so to go to get to it, he had already walked about 3 miles

the police had advised him to abandon he car, how many others got that advice
then remove the vehicle and charge for it (which didn't happen in this case), where these people informed that the vehicle had been removed
where they informed that after 24 hours they would be charged or even charged for that removal at that time

we need more hidden speed cameras and less gritting as it should be law that all should carry grit at all times so everyone can grit the roads and take a photo of themselves when they speed as and when required, get real …

ps. merry xmas …

This week, around these parts, I'd say it's been a good 72 hours since the roads have been normally driveable. I certainly wouldn't trust any vehicle having to tow/carry another vehicle under these conditions and the police have been advising people not to travel unless absolutely necessary. If the car isn't actually on the carriageway and is therefore not causing an obstruction, would retrieval of the vehicle be considered a journey which was 'absolutely necessary'?

I'd be rather interested to see the results if people took this to a court...

Jon