Outraged motorists have begged to have the penalty overturned as they risk “losing their licenses” over the mistake.
The misleading sign is located on the A20 in Sidcup, south east London.
It was put up by an “unauthorised third party” after the speed limit was temporarily changed to 40mph, as a safety measure due to frequent flooding in the area, according to Transport for London.
After up to 500 drivers were slapped with fines, the Met Police launched a probe – but determined the penalties were “within the law”.
TfL are responsible for the stretch of road involved, but fines received were addressed from the Metropolitan Police.
A spokesperson for the Met Police said the force “does not have anything to add to that for now”.
‘I’ve never seen anything like it’
The ordeal has sparked outrage and director at Patterson Law, the biggest national firm specialising in motoring offences, Dominic Smith admitted he was shocked by the response.
He told LBC’s Nick Ferrari at Breakfast: “I haven’t ever seen anything quite like this, on this magnitude.
“We’ve been contacted in the last week by about 400 or 500 individuals, of which about 100 to 150 are at risk of losing their licenses because of this.”
The director added when a new speed camera is erected they usually hear a few complaints per day – as opposed to “40 to 50″ per day now.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” he continued.
Meanwhile one fuming driver, Nick Carter is appealing after being issued five NIPs in one week while travelling to work.
The motorist, who lives in Tunbridge with his pregnant girlfriend, now faces 15 points on his license.
He told News Shopper: “My mum depends on me, and I’ve just got a mortgage.
“I could potentially lose all of this if I lose my license”.
The baffled driver said he’s been fined for travelling at 51mph, 46, 47 and 49mph and the real speed limit is “confusing” as there’s a “rogue” 50mph sign and Sat Navs reportedly still show a 70mph zone.
‘Immense stress’
Angry speeding fine victims have formed a Facebook group to campaign for justice and are more than 200 members strong.
Founder Becky Seymore said: “We had more than 100 people when we set it up, and nine days later, we have 245 members.”
Simon Routledge, who is in the group, also spoke of his frustration to News Shopper and said he is “not a mad driver and [has] had no convictions”.
“It’s my mistake; I presumed the road was 50mph,”he said.
“I drove down yesterday, and I could see the 40mph zone signs, but they’re about three foot high.”
Steve Bradley and his heavily pregnant partner Miriam have also received nine NIPs in one week – stress they don’t need while caring for their 20-month old baby.
“Without knowing, the change had occurred and simply following the flow of traffic, we have equated enough tickets to cause us immense stress,” Steve told the News Shopper.
He explained how the couple had been travelling the route more than normal because their best friend had died and they were taking on his responsibilities for a show in Eltham.
‘Poor communication and inadequate signage’
MP Louie French, for Old Bexley and Sidcup, told the News Shopper he is concerned by the fines.
“Following a flurry of complaints about their poor communication and inadequate signage for this change, Transport for London were clear last year that speeding fines would not be issued for these new ‘temporary’ speed limits until adequate signage and warnings had been put in place for drivers,” he explained.
The MP begged TfL to “urgently” review the situation and confirm the exact date these temporary speed signs will be removed.
TfL full statement
A TfL spokesman said in a statement: “Safety is our number one priority and we have temporarily introduced a 40mph speed limit on the A20 Sidcup Road due to ongoing surface water flooding which has caused a number of safety concerns and serious risk to road users.
“The reduced speed limit has been introduced in response to that risk.
“Major work is required to put in place permanent measures to tackle flooding here and we are working to do this as soon as possible.
“We plan to begin construction work on these measures in May.
“TfL wants to ensure that all drivers are treated fairly and speed limit signage was installed to reflect the new limit.
“TfL reviewed the signage at this location and found that an incorrect 50mph sign had been recently placed at this location by an unauthorised third party.
“This has been replaced with the correct 40mph signage and TfL is investigating how the incorrect sign was installed.”
How much is a speeding fine?
THERE are different bands of speeding offences, that warrant varying degrees of punishment, in the eyes of the law.
The bands and penalties work their way up for all the speed limits, 30mph, 40mph, 50mph, 60mph, and 70mph.
Those who already have points on their license, or have committed more serious speeding offences, will get a minimum £100 fine and three or six penalty points on their license.
The penalty can rise as high as £1,000, or £2,500 if you were caught on a motorway.
If you collect more than 12 points within a three years, you face being disqualified from driving and waiting four years to see the points wiped.