Failing to give way to oncoming vehiclesThe official national descriptor for code 37, 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: 37j rather than just 37. The letter narrows the allegation, and it tells you what the council actually says went wrong. These are the suffixes code 37 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 37 that case rests on:
- The prescribed priority sign, correctly sited on your approach.
- That oncoming traffic was present and had priority.
- That your vehicle proceeded into the narrowing anyway.
Where code 37 tickets go wrong
The contravention needs oncoming traffic to give way to. If the video shows an empty road, the allegation fails on its own terms.
Where you entered the narrowing before the other vehicle appeared, priority does not retrospectively change. The footage settles it.
Priority signs come in pairs and the wrong one on your approach is a real defect.
A compelling reason, and visible on the complete video.
What to gather before you write
- The full video, which is essential here because timing is the whole question.
- Photographs of the signs on both approaches.
Code 37 questions, answered
There was nothing coming the other way. Can they still issue this?
They can issue it, but it should not survive a challenge. The contravention is failing to give way to oncoming vehicles, so oncoming vehicles have to exist. Ask for the complete video rather than the still, state plainly that the road ahead was clear, and invite them to identify the vehicle you are said to have failed to give way to.
What does contravention code 37 mean?
Failing to give way to oncoming vehicles. In plain terms: The sign with the red arrow and the black arrow, at a build-out or a narrow bridge. Oncoming traffic has priority and you are required to wait.
How much is a code 37 penalty?
Code 37 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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