Three councils issued over 60% of all yellow box penalty charges

New research from the RAC has revealed that just three councils, outside of London and Cardiff, are responsible for more than 60% of all yellow box penalty charge notices (PCNs).

Manchester City Council were responsible for no less than 13,130 PCNs last year, generating £446,706 in fine revenue. Following closely behind, Medway Council in Kent issued 4,433 PCNs, making £145,162 in penalty income. With 3,618 PCNs and £139,798 in enforcement revenue, Buckinghamshire County Council came third.

In 2022, the Government announced that it would allow more councils to enforce moving traffic offences. Previously, only London and Cardiff could take action against these traffic violations. Recent Freedom of Information (FOI) requests have revealed that 36 new yellow box junctions have been installed across England since this development, with a total of 32,748 penalty charge notices issued in 2024 alone.

The charge for a penalty notice is £70, which can be reduced to £35 if paid within 21 days of receipt.

The RAC reports considerable variation in PCN frequency between councils, with one council accounting for almost half (49%) of all yellow box penalties outside of London and Cardiff.

Rod Dennis, RAC senior policy officer, said: “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.”

According to the highway code, drivers must not enter yellow boxes unless they can do so without stopping. The only exception to this rule is if a driver is waiting to turn right and is stopped from doing so by oncoming traffic.

However, issues have been raised regarding how yellow boxes have been implemented across councils, including junctions that are incorrectly placed or excessively large.

On this, Dennis added: “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.”

The RAC is calling for the Government to update their box junction design guidance, stating: “With more local authorities likely to enforce yellow boxes in the coming months and years, it’s vitally important this happens.”