Traffic offences net city £2.5m

CARDIFF council raked in nearly £2.5m in just 12 months from drivers caught breaking road rules such as blocking yellow box junctions, figures show.

Data obtained by the RAC revealed revenue from moving traffic offences was £2,447,938 in the 2018-19 financial year – £600,000 more than in 2017-18.

Moving traffic offences include yellow box misuse, making an illegal turn and driving the wrong way down a one-way street.

Yellow boxes are designed to ensure traffic flows smoothly through busy junctions. Motorists should only enter them when their exit is clear or they are waiting to turn right.

Cardiff is the only local authority in Wales with the power to enforce moving traffic offences, while in England only Transport for London (TfL) and the London boroughs have the same power.

Between them, local authorities in Cardiff and London brought in nearly £60m in a year.

The data revealed that revenue from moving traffic offences was £58.2m in the 2018-19 financial year after a million penalty charge notices (PCNs) were issued. This is up 25% on the £46.7m raised in 2016-17.

RAC head of roads policy Nicholas Lyes said: “It’s plain that London boroughs, Transport for London and Cardiff are generating phenomenal sums of money from the enforcement of moving traffic offences.

“When it comes to extending powers to other councils many are concerned, with 68% thinking local authorities will rush to install cameras to generate additional revenue.”

A spokesman for Cardiff council said: “The income generated from parking charges, civil parking enforcement and the moving traffic offences scheme is publicly available information.

“The income funds the operational cost of parking and enforcement and any surplus or deficit is transferred to a parking reserve account.

“This is then used to support public transport services, off-street parking and highway improvements in accordance with Section 55 of the Road Traffic Regulations Act 1984.”