12 councils in England can now fine drivers up to £105 – is your area affected?
Has your council been given the powers?
Twelve councils in England will now be able to fine drivers for offences that have previously only been issued by the police.
Local authorities have been able to apply for the ability to issue penalty charge notices (PCNs) to drivers since May last year.
However, now councils will be able to directly issue fines to drivers over certain offenses.
This is a result of less police officers on the road meaning some minor offences go unpunished.
Councils in London and Cardiff were already granted powers to enforce these fines ahead of the change, which has been rolling out since the start of 2023.
Wondering if your area will be affected? Here’s what you need to know.
Which councils can now fine drivers up to £105?
The 12 councils in question have been granted permission to enforce ‘moving traffic offences’, according to official data collected by Confused.com through a Freedom of Information request to the Department for Transport (DfT)
These areas include:
- Durham – one weight limit bridge
- Luton – pedestrian zones
- Oxfordshire – school pedestrian-only zones
- Reading -15 yellow box junctions
- Hampshire – school yellow markings at 10 sites
- Surrey – yellow box junctions
- Kent – multiple sites
- Bedford – undecided/unspecified
- Bath & North East Somerset – five sites, yellow box junctions, and left turns
- Derby City, Buckinghamshire and Norfolk council have also been granted powers, but it’s not yet known which areas they’ll be monitoring
A ‘moving traffic offence’ includes incorrectly driving in a bus lane, stopping in a yellow box junction, banned right or left turns, illegal U-turns, going the wrong way in a one-way street, and ignoring a Traffic Regulation Order.
Fines for these offences cost £70 on average outside London, and up to £130 in the capital.
These fines are halved if paid within 14 days, but increase dramatically if ignored.
Councils who’ve been granted powers will be able to grant PCNs, which usually consist of fines of £20 if they are paid quickly.
However, they can end up costing drivers more than £100 if they go unpaid.
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