Manchester has the highest number of yellow box junction fines outside of the capital

Up until May 2022, only councils in London and Cardiff could enforce yellow box junctions and other moving traffic contraventions.

As of the start of this year, 36 separate boxes outside the two capital cities were being enforced – with a total of 32,748 penalty charge notices (PCNs) being issued to drivers stopping in them in 2024 alone.

High numbers of PCNs have been handed out in different council areas, with one authority bringing in almost half (49%) of all yellow box revenue outside London and Cardiff. Manchester City Council, which is enforcing six yellow boxes, issued 13,130 PCNs for infringements last year – the equivalent of 36 a day – leading to £446,706 in fine revenue.

Kirkmanshulme Lane / Mount Road junction, Manchester M18 is the yellow box that is raising the most revenue.

Second in terms of revenue from yellow box fines was Medway Council in Kent and third was Buckinghamshire County Council.

These three councils alone issued more than six-in-10 of all yellow box PCNs outside London and Cardiff last year, accounting for 73% of the total fine income (£731,666 of £998,640).

RAC senior policy officer Rod Dennis said: “Yellow boxes serve an important purpose in keeping traffic flowing at busy junctions. But with councils outside London and Cardiff enforcing them for the first time, it’s now more important than ever they do everything they can to ensure drivers don’t get unfairly caught out. After all, very few people set out to deliberately flout the rules and get fined.

He said: “The enormously high number of penalty charge notices being raised in just a few council areas suggests things are awry. 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.

“As the data shows, not every council now enforcing yellow boxes is generating a huge amount of money from fines. ​ In fact, a small number of fines – and a small number of appeals – indicates a yellow box that’s working as it should. This should be the ambition behind any yellow box that a council is looking to start enforcing, rather than being seen as a revenue-raising opportunity.

“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. Sadly, we are aware of several locations where this isn’t the case.

Adding: “We’ve previously expressed concern that drivers would get fined unnecessarily without the Government updating its box junction design guidance. This must clearly set out the locations where they can be used and, crucially, ensure they are sized correctly so as not to trap drivers unwittingly. With more local authorities likely to enforce yellow boxes in the coming months and years, it’s vitally important this happens.”