Highway Code: Drivers risk £70 fine over yellow box mistake

South Wales Guardian

7 hours ago

Mastering the roads is important; however, new and experienced drivers alike may be receiving fines for this common error.
The RAC has revealed that drivers were hit with hefty fines from yellow box junctions last year after councils were given new enforcement powers.
It said the 'enormously high number' of penalty charge notices (PCNs) should 'send alarm bells ringing in council offices'.
Yellow boxes are used in an attempt to ensure traffic flows smoothly through busy junctions.
Motorists should not enter them unless their exit is clear or they are waiting to turn right.
The RAC, which obtained the statistics through Freedom of Information (FoI) requests, revealed that drivers were fined nearly £1 million from just 36 yellow box junctions last year.
London and Cardiff were the only parts of the UK where drivers could be fined for yellow box offences until the Government introduced new legislation in May 2022, which enables all councils across England to apply for enforcement powers.
Data provided by English councils in response to FoI requests by the RAC showed 36 yellow boxes outside London and Cardiff were enforced last year.
This led to a total of 32,748 PCNs issued, with drivers paying £998,640.
PCNs are generally £70, reduced to £35 if paid within 21 days.
Only a fraction of yellow box fines are appealed against by drivers, with the highest proportion appealed being 18% in the Manchester City Council area.
RAC senior policy officer Rod Dennis said a yellow box, which generates a small number of fines, indicates it is 'working as it should', which must be the ambition for councils rather than using them as a 'revenue-raising opportunity'.
He went on: 'Very few people set out to deliberately flout the rules and get fined.
'The large number of penalties being dished out over a small number of locations and in a short space of time should send alarm bells ringing in council offices.
'It's vital box junctions are used in the correct places and are only as big as absolutely necessary.
'They must be fairly set up so that drivers don't find themselves stranded through no fault of their own.'
A spokesperson for the Local Government Association said: 'All councils follow guidance to ensure motorists are treated fairly.
'There are processes for appeal if anyone believes they have been unfairly fined.'
A yellow box is painted on some roads with criss-cross lines in them, and sometimes it's fine to stop in them, but other times you should avoid them.
As the TFL website explains, they are usually found at the junction of two or more roads and occasionally at roundabouts or outside fire and ambulance stations.
A yellow box junction does not require any other signage.
According to the government website, motorists must avoid entering the box until their exit road or lane is clear.
However, you can enter the box and wait if you are turning right, and if the only reason you can't turn right yet is because of the oncoming traffic or other motorists also waiting to turn right.
Box junctions are addressed in the road junctions section of the Highway Code.
Drivers paid out £998,640 in box junction fines last year (Image: Getty Images) It reads: "Box junctions have criss-cross yellow lines painted on the road.
"You MUST NOT enter the box until your exit road or lane is clear.
"However, you may enter the box and wait when you want to turn right, and are only stopped from doing so by oncoming traffic, or by other vehicles waiting to turn right.
"At signalled roundabouts, you MUST NOT enter the box unless you can cross over it completely without stopping."
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If a box junction is not used correctly, you could end up with a fine, as cameras are in place at many box junctions.
If you think you can prove that you didn't break the rules, you can appeal the fine.
You can find out more about box junctions via the government and RAC websites.