Nearly half of drivers refuse to pay CAZ fine

THOUSANDS of drivers who have been fined for breaching Birmingham’s controversial Clean Air Zone (CAZ) regulations are refusing to pay up, it has emerged.

More than 1,600 fines have been issued every day on average this year and motorists in older polluting vehicles continue to be caught out in huge numbers around the city centre.

But many of those fined have refused to pay, analysis of latest data revealed. Of 54,734 drivers given penalties in August, only 23,099 paid them, just 42 per cent. The total was even lower in previous months.

It suggests thousands of motorists have appealed CAZ fines or just ignored them altogether.

Birmingham City Council admitted it would be impossible for it to recover all the cash because of the sheer amount of manpower involved in processing tens of thousands of cases.

It was revealed earlier this year how council bosses have been taken by surprise by just how many people would fail to understand the CAZ after around 400,000 more fines than expected were generated in the first eight months of the pay-as-you-drive scheme.

The council predicted just 69,000 fines would be imposed – but that number was dwarfed by the actual figure of around 470,000. The authority raked in £20 million in that time and accepted it under-estimated the number of drivers who would pay the daily £8 charge levied on older cars.

While the number of motorists misusing the zone is down from when it launched in June 2021, the total has remained stable at around 50,000 a month this year.

The council said the figures for the number of fines paid were a “snapshot” and some penalties may have been paid at a later date or following the appeals process.