Failing to proceed in the direction shown by the arrow on a blue signThe official national descriptor for code 32, as published in the Department for Transport statutory guidance list.
The letter after the number on your ticket
Codes are often written with a suffix: 32j rather than just 32. The letter narrows the allegation, and it tells you what the council actually says went wrong. These are the suffixes code 32 can carry:
| j | camera enforcement |
What the council has to be able to show
An appeal is not an apology, it is a challenge to the council’s case. For code 32 that case rests on:
- A prescribed blue sign, correctly sited and lit where lighting is required.
- A traffic order behind it.
- That the vehicle took a direction the sign prohibits.
Where code 32 tickets go wrong
Mandatory signs have to be where a driver can act on them. If it sits after the point of no return, or behind a bus stop, photograph the approach and say how far you had to react.
Being boxed in by traffic is a compelling reason, and it is visible on the full footage.
New junction arrangements produce a spike in these notices. If the change was recent, ask when the signs went up and whether a warning period applied.
Where arrows painted on the carriageway point one way and the sign another, the instruction is not clear and that is a genuine ground.
What to gather before you write
- Photographs of the sign from each approach lane.
- A wide photograph showing how far ahead the sign becomes visible.
- The full video.
Code 32 questions, answered
The arrow was on a blue sign. Is that not just advice?
No. Blue circular signs give mandatory instructions, and the arrow ones tell you which way you must go. Red-bordered circles prohibit, blue circles require, and both are enforceable. What is worth checking is whether the sign was positioned where you could still act on it, and whether the arrows painted on the road agreed with it.
What does contravention code 32 mean?
Failing to proceed in the direction shown by the arrow on a blue sign. In plain terms: Blue circular signs give orders rather than warnings. This code catches drivers who carry straight on where the sign requires a turn, most often at a junction that has recently been redesigned.
How much is a code 32 penalty?
Code 32 is a moving traffic or bus lane contravention, so it is not banded higher and lower the way parking codes are. In London the charge is £160 across the board. Outside London it is set at the higher level, commonly around £70. Half is normally taken off for early payment, and because these notices are usually issued from a camera rather than by an officer at the roadside, that discount period is often 21 days rather than 14. Your notice states the actual figures and the actual deadline, and it is the notice that governs.
Your notice is definitive. This page explains the national code. Councils use extra codes and local suffixes, and the wording printed on your own notice always takes precedence. Check the deadline on the notice before you do anything else, because the discount usually runs out after 14 days.
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