Just 36 yellow box junctions net £1m in fines

Richard Aucock, Contributor
Wed, 02 Jul 2025

New data has revealed drivers were fined almost £1m in 2024 from a mere 36 yellow box junctions after enforcement rules were expanded.

Up until May 2022, only councils in London and Cardiff could enforce yellow box junctions and other ‘moving traffic contraventions’. Elsewhere, moving traffic offences were only enforceable by the police.

A rule change in May 2022 allowed councils in England to apply for new powers to enforce moving traffic offences.

The RAC data from a Freedom of Information request shows that 10 local authority areas newly enforcing yellow box junctions netted a combined £998k from drivers falling foul of the rules.

The 36 separate box junctions now being enforced saw a total of 32,748 penalty charge notices (PCNs) issued in 2024 to drivers stopping in them.

PCNs are generally £70, or £35 if paid within 21 days.

Manchester City Council alone issued a staggering 13,130 PCNs, which led to £446,706 in revenue for the six box junctions it is now enforcing.

Medway Council was second in the revenue table, raising £145,162 for five box junctions now being enforced. Buckinghamshire County Council was third, with four yellow boxes raising £139,798.

The single most lucrative yellow box junction was the Ennis Roundabout in Guildford, Surrey. Drivers paid £81,445 for 4250 PCNs issued over a seven-month period.

"The enormously high number of penalty charge notices being raised in just a few council areas suggests things are awry," says RAC senior policy officer Rod Dennis.

"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."

In contrast, some councils are issuing comparatively tiny numbers of PCNs. Gloucestershire City Council, for example, issued just 30 between May and December 2024, for a single yellow box. Leeds City Council handed out 50 PNS in for months from two enforced yellow box junctions.

"Not every council now enforcing yellow boxes is generating huge amount of money from fines," adds Dennis. "In fact, a small number of fines – and a small number of appeals – indicates a yellow box that’s working as it should."

The RAC says 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.

Ask HJ

Can I challenge a box junction fine because the yellow lines were faded?

I entered a yellow box. The video and photo show that the yellow markings of the box are very faded, particularly in the lane I was in. A driver concentrating on whether to move forward would not see the faded yellow lines.

You have the option to challenge the PCN based on the condition of the lines, but we would expect the chances of success to be slim. Arguably the presence of any yellow line covering a junction would indicate that a box junction is present and that the box junction rules would be in effect.

Answered by David Ross

More Questions