To anyone driving through London...

[The Large One]

My missus has been dealt with a fixed penalty notice of £120 (£60 if paid within 14 days) for driving into a box junction in Brixton without immediately leaving it.

I know (as does she) the laws on driving into box junctions, but when did TFL (Transport for London) start issuing these notices that they were going to be stinging people for doing that? Was it one of the measures when the Congestion Charge was brought in?

I had no idea that TFL were doing this (even though I do understand ignorance of the law is not a defence), but are there notices around saying about the fixed penalty notices for doing this?

This doesn't sound right to me.

 

[Hoggy]

to be fair, that is bollocks, it isn't dangerous, it just potentially causes another road user a 30 second inconvienience, i see countless people on their mobile phones when driving everyday, which is far more serious, yet no one seems to get stung £60 for it!! i will always make a gesture at people on mobiles at the wheel, usually one that denotes i think they are a wanker!!

 

[Dave the OAP]

My missus has been dealt with a fixed penalty notice of £120 (£60 if paid within 14 days) for driving into a box junction in Brixton without immediately leaving it.

I know (as does she) the laws on driving into box junctions, but when did TFL (Transport for London) start issuing these notices that they were going to be stinging people for doing that? Was it one of the measures when the Congestion Charge was brought in?

I had no idea that TFL were doing this (even though I do understand ignorance of the law is not a defence), but are there notices around saying about the fixed penalty notices for doing this?

This doesn't sound right to me.

Dont want a fine? Dont do the crime.

Simple as

 

[wehatepalace]

They started a blitz on it towards the end of last year, there was loads of adverts on the london radio stations and on bus stops etc
TFL =

 

[Storer68]

What he said.

The Highway Code:
150: Box junctions. These have criss-cross yellow lines painted on the road (see
Other road markings section). 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.
Law TSRGD regs 10(1) & 29(2)

From the tfl website

Enforcing London's road signs and yellow box junctions has historically been the responsibility of the police. In June 2004, TfL took responsibility for all of London's major roads and red routes. In addition, the following London boroughs are responsible for their own roads:

Camden
Croydon
Ealing
Hammersmith & Fulham
Haringey
Harrow
Islington
Lambeth
Newham
Southwark (beginning June 2006)
Tower Hamlets (beginning June 2006)
Waltham Forest (beginning June 2006)
Wandsworth
Westminster


Best start selling some shirts pronto, Al

 

[Storer68]

to be fair, that is bollocks, it isn't dangerous, it just potentially causes another road user a 30 second inconvienience, i see countless people on their mobile phones when driving everyday, which is far more serious, yet no one seems to get stung £60 for it!! i will always make a gesture at people on mobiles at the wheel, usually one that denotes i think they are a wanker!!

bollocks it may be but its still against the law.

 

[tedebear]

Sorry TLo - but I agree with the others here, its the law and I don't believe that a sign should be erected to warn you about something you should know.

It pisses me off no end that we get warned about speed cameras too - you shouldn't be speeding so should be travelling at the right speed when you approach a camera....

 

[Lord Bracknell]

All those people who used to say that the police should have more important things to do than enforcing yellow lines must now be delighted.

The police are now doing more important things. And the councils are doing the enforcing.

At least the money from fines now goes to a good cause (better local transport) instead of being gobbled up by the government to spend in Iraq.

 

[BensGrandad]

I believe that lot more councils should follow suit then perhaps we would not get the traffic conjestion.

Also the police should take a more active role in issuing tickets to the morons who use a phone in a cars when driving. Could these number plate recognition cameras not take phoptographs of phone users.

 

[Icy Gull]

I HATE people who drive into the hatched area without checking whether they can get through it and then behave all when they gridlock the traffic.

 

[Brixtaan]

Things are tightening up all around London and you have to be much more alert just to avoid the mounting penalty fine excuses they come up with.

It's becoming unbearable in London.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Decriminalised car parking fines :yahoo::yahoo::yahoo::yahoo:

Cash cow...

...or massive council tax increase

YOU DECIDE

 

[The Large One]

Sorry TLo - but I agree with the others here, its the law and I don't believe that a sign should be erected to warn you about something you should know.

It pisses me off no end that we get warned about speed cameras too - you shouldn't be speeding so should be travelling at the right speed when you approach a camera....

Hang on, I never said she didn't do it - and I never said she doesn't know it's wrong.

All I'm asking is - when did they start dishing out fine for it? Or has it always been a fineable offence, and how come it's double the speeding penalty?

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Decriminalised car parking fines

Cash cow...

...or massive council tax increase ?

YOU DECIDE

If this is a way of increasing the funding for council services, I'm quite happy to decide ...

LET THE LAW BREAKERS PAY MORE.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

All I'm asking is - when did they start dishing out fine for it? Or has it always been a fineable offence?

As Storer 68 has said ...

June 2004 was when TfL started enforcing what the police never bothered with, even though it had always been an offence.

 

[hitony]

If this is a way of increasing the funding for council services, I'm quite happy to decide ...

LET THE LAW BREAKERS PAY MORE.

I totally agree, "LETE THE LAW BREAKERS PAY MORE" ......can we just stop letting them out of prison, a number of years later, ..............oh and just to make it better, we give em loads of money on there release.........technology

 

[clapham_gull]

I'd wish they'd build a box junction near where I live.

It's a weird set up, somewhere you'd actually think they'd build one.

Basically - if I ever need to cross the road, I end up walking through traffic on a pedestrian crossing - when the man is GREEN.

A junction where motorists pass a green light then get stuck over a crossing because of the traffic.

I've almost hit by a bus on that crossing, it's obviously an area where motorists get confused.

.. it's also an area where cyclists just IGNORE lights and pedestrians.

 

[Cian]

.. it's also an area where cyclists just IGNORE lights and pedestrians.

For about 50% of cyclists, thats the entire city usually. I like to think I'm in the other 50%... at least I think I am when I'm on the bike; in the car everyone does it

 

[clapham_gull]

For about 50% of cyclists, thats the entire city usually. I like to think I'm in the other 50%... at least I think I am when I'm on the bike; in the car everyone does it

Good, I'm very anti car generally (although that's just a city thing, being brought up in the country where it's a neccesity)

.. but in London, it's the cyclists that cause me most grief.

 

[Billy the Fish]

Hang on, I never said she didn't do it - and I never said she doesn't know it's wrong.

All I'm asking is - when did they start dishing out fine for it? Or has it always been a fineable offence, and how come it's double the speeding penalty?

As has been said, they started getting hot on it a few years back when they realised that the average speed in london is alot less than 30mph making it pointless putting up more speed cameras, so this was the new cash cow.
I hate it on these threads when everyone gets all sanctimonious, £60 is an excessive punishment for what is an easy mistake to make, especially if you're driving in an unfamilier place and/or you don't do much milage.
I got done for driving in a bus lane in croydon and I don't even remember doing it. I was blatently only in it for a second as a mistake or avoiding another car. I would've contested it, if only to see their photographic evidence, but the crappy lease company that my car is from pay the fines upfront and then get the money back from you afterwards