Council to start fining motorists who fail to use the junction properly

Busy yellow box junctions in Chiswick could prove to be a goldmine for Hounslow Council, under a new plan to use cameras to fine motorists who block the flow of traffic.

Hounslow Council is warning motorists that it is set to start issuing fines to drivers across the borough who stop in yellow box junctions. Fines of £130 will be issued if drivers are caught on camera in what are often dubbed 'moneyboxes'.

Enforcement teams will be monitoring CCTV footage to catch drivers who do not wait for a clear exit before entering a yellow box junction.

Junction between High Road and Turnham Green Terrace (google streetview)

There are a number of potential 'hotspots' on Chiswick High Road where motorists will need to exercise caution. Two of the busiest are the junction with Turnham Green Terrace, (near Snappy Snaps) and the yellow box junction at Sutton Lane North/Acton Lane.

Other potential hotspots for fines include a box junction on Chiswick High Road at the Goldhawk Road end, the yellow box junction on on CHR/Chiswick Lane, and two smaller ones on CHR/Airedale Avenue area, one going west and another east.

Junction between Chiswick Lane and Chiswick High Road (google streetview)

Hounslow Council says it has not targeted its resources towards enforcing box junctions, unlike some other boroughs, but intends to do so from now on.

Chiswick High Road is already a moneyspinner for the Council in terms of parking tickets and figures suggest it is already the road which from which the most money is raised from PCNs n the country. Yellow box junctions from W4 could prove to be an extra source of revenue with the new monitoring on what is a very long and busy High Road.

TfL looks after 465 box junctions - including one near Kew Bridge - because they are on its roads, but the rest are overseen by councils.

CHR near Airedale Avenue (google street view)

Yellow box markings are designed to relieve traffic congestion and improve traffic flow by preventing gridlock at busy junctions. The Highway Code states you should never enter one unless you can clear it without stopping, the exception being when turning right.

Last year the government made it illegal to use closed circuit television (CCTV) ‘spy cars’ to enforce on-street parking and under the new law, tickets have to be fixed to windscreens by parking wardens. CCTV use to issue tickets by post is now limited to critical routes such as schools, bus lanes, bus stops and red routes where public transport is to be kept moving for safety reasons. This means that councils have lost revenue and some have sought other ways to make up for that shortfall.

Councillor Richard Foote, Cabinet Member for Community Protection, Hounslow Council, said: “Drivers who don’t wait until the car in front of them has left the yellow box junction cause traffic flow to come to a standstill very quickly, which is frustrating to all road-users. Across London this is a major problem but until now we have not targeted our resources at enforcing legislation like other London boroughs have.”

Drivers who are caught entering the yellow box junctions without a clear exit face a fine of £130. The sum is halved if they pay within 14 days.

Last year there was uproar when a television programme revealed that Hammersmith & Fulham council doubled the number of tickets issued for moving traffic offences, which include getting caught in a yellow box junction. The Council increased revenue by £4.5 million between 2010/11 and 2012, largely due to increased use of cctv monitoring of moving traffic offences.

November 13, 2015