A yellow box junction has raked in an astonishing £450,000 in just eight months, with drivers repeatedly falling foul of the rules. Between January and August this year, the junction brought in just over £450,000 from motorists who entered the yellow box illegally – often without realising it.
The junction, situated in Kingston-upon-Thames in South West London, features two yellow boxes side by side, directly in front of a set of traffic lights large enough to accommodate two small cars.
The Highway Code forbids drivers from entering a yellow box until they can drive over it without needing to stop, to help traffic flow on busy roads.
Residents have reported “constant tooting, screaming and shouting” as drivers fall foul of the system and rack up fines. A local who runs The Real Butchers, which is next to the yellow boxes, said on a Wednesday morning, in just 25 minutes, he saw five drivers getting stuck on the yellow grid.
He told The Times: “It’s not about traffic control, it’s a cash cow. The local Government isn’t going to change anything because it’s making them money.”
The council issued 6,568 penalty charge notices (PCNs) for the junction, roughly 27 penalties a day. It cost drivers a total of £451,405 in PCNs, according to a Freedom of Information Act inquiry.
Many believe the fines are unfair, with drivers often penalised for the mistakes of others. The two yellow boxes at the Kingston Road junction have been in place since 2015, but enforcement and fines were not introduced until July 2020.
Since April, the fine for a yellow box junction is £160 in all London boroughs, reduced to £80 if paid in the first 14 days. Outside of the capital, it is £70, reduced to £35.
The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames said all income generated from PCNs is ring-fenced for essential traffic and parking management.
A spokesman said: “These two yellow box junctions are in place to prevent traffic from blocking each junction, and to allow vehicles to enter and exit side roads, and to allow clear sight of pedestrians and cyclists to motorists who are turning right into Elm Road, to improve safety for all road and pavement users.”
