In a week when it was revealed that Transport for London has issued £5m worth of box junction fines in a year when motorists were supposedly scarce, major motoring organisations have called for clearer signage to ensure drivers can avoid getting caught.
TfL issued 77,000 penalty charge notices in 2020 according to a recent Freedom of Information request, with automatic number plate recognition cameras snapping some 1,500 drivers a week.
The data reveals that a box junction outside of Wandsworth Fire Station is the most prolific for PCNs, with a total of 10,731 fines in 2019, though interestingly the same data shows that there were many successful appeals on that site, which suggests that the location may be poorly signposted.
The AA is suggesting that some of the revenues which are being claimed by TfL should be invested in better signage, to ensure fewer fines, and ultimately faster and safer journeys.
“If a yellow box is catching out that many drivers with car travel so dramatically reduced through much of last year, the yellow box is clearly not doing its job and needs more warning signage to make it effective,” AA spokesman Luke Bosdet told The Daily Mail.
“Rather than increasing fines "as a deterrent", more of the huge amounts of money already taken in PCNs should be spent on giving better warning of the box junction, giving drivers a better chance of not stopping in it and allowing fire engines to get on the road without obstruction.”
According to the same Freedom of Information requests, Tesco van drivers received the most PCNs with 94 in total, closely followed by the Royal Mail (82) and British Telecom. Interestingly TfL vehicles received zero fines.
The RAC believes that council should take an education first approach to offences, with Simon Williams, RAC spokesman saying: “Drivers who blatantly ignore signage or highway rules should expect penalties, but there are instances which are not always clear-cut.
“More broadly, there's a good argument for authorities to issue warning letters in the first instance rather than fines.
“We also believe drivers should be able to appeal easily if, for example, they receive a penalty for slightly moving into a yellow box to allow an emergency vehicle through.”