Yellow box junctions are used to prevent drivers from blocking the roads and keep traffic flowing.
Drivers stopping in the yellow boxes when the exit is not clear are guilty of a moving traffic offence.
The power to punish drivers for these offences was granted to Reading Borough Council by the previous Conservative government in November 2022.
Now the figures for how many people have been caught out for stopping yellow box junctions have been revealed.
Before fines can be issued, notices must be issued for the first six months when enforcement commences.
After the six month period, the council can then issue drivers with penalty charge notice (PCN) fines.
The council issued 2,455 warning notices to drivers for stopping in yellow box junctions from April 2023 to March 2024.
A total of 1,638 fines were issued, with 35 being cancelled after a formal representation from the driver, and 26 being written off for other reasons.
The PCNs come with a penalty of £70 which can be reduced to £35 if paid within 21 days.
Therefore, 1,156 fines were paid at the £35 discount.
Of the fines paid, 81 per cent were done online, 18 per cent were done via phone, 1.2 per cent were paid by post with 0.2 per cent being paid by other methods.
The figures also reveal how much the council made and spent.
Enforcing the offences actually left the council with a net cost of £681, as it spent £40,975 on enforcement with £40,294 of income being generated from paid fines.
Enforcement is currently undertaken at six of the 15 yellow box junctions in the borough.
These are:
- Kings Road / Orts Road
- Kings Road / Eldon Road
- Queens Road / London Street
- Oxford Road / Bedford Road
- Bath Road / Burghfield Road
- Bath Road / Berkeley Avenue
The figures for the warnings and fines issued for moving traffic offence breaches are revealed in the council’s Annual Parking Service Report 2023/24.
The report will be discussed by the council’s traffic management sub-committee on Thursday, March 6.
In an update provided at the end of last year, a council spokesperson said that there are plans to introduce moving traffic enforcement this year at the London Road junctions with Eldon Road and Kendrick Road, and the junction of the A33 and Rose Kiln Lane at Reading Link Retail Park.
The other yellow box junctions in Reading are listed below:
- Church Street / Church Road in Caversham
- The Oracle Gyratory
- London Road / Cholmeley Road
- Wokingham Road / London Road
- Oxford Road / Grovelands Road
- A329 / A33
Other moving traffic offences include driving through a ‘No Entry’ sign, making banned turns, driving in prohibited areas, and driving in bus and taxi lanes.
