Motorists across the UK are being warned of a new wave of motoring fines likely to come into force from June as councils are given new powers.

Offences such as stopping in a yellow box junction, making an illegal turn and driving in a no-entry zone have always been have always been considered minor traffic offences, but apart from in London and Cardiff, they have only been enforceable by the police.

From May, councils and local authorities will be able to apply for powers similar to London and Cardiff, whereby they can collect fines for minor traffic offences, though it is unlikely to be officers, but cameras recording the motoring misdemeanors.

Motorists could find themselves financially punished for trivial offences such as encroaching on a cycle lane, and while transport ministers argue that these powers will help cut congestion, improve bus services and boost road safety, it is likely that councils will use them as a much needed cash resource.

The RAC also argues that many of the road markings on our networks are poorly maintained, leading to an ‘avalanche’ of wrongly issued fines.

“There will be a high degree of confusion among drivers and local authorities which could lead to an avalanche of penalty charge notices being wrongly issued and then having to be appealed,” said Nicholas Lyes, the RAC’s head of roads policy.

“This will inevitably lead to an unnecessarily high number of appeals for local authorities to review, as well as some poor outcomes for drivers.

“We are worried that failing to update guidance to include the lessons learnt from more than 15 years of enforcement in London will lead to countless wrong fines being issued, no end of unnecessary stress for drivers who feel they have been unfairly treated and thousands of wasted council hours investigating appeals.

“It’s absolutely crucial that yellow box junctions are enforced fairly and, as things stand, this may not be the case which will mean many drivers will be treated poorly and lose out financially as a result.”

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