Motorists could be hit with £70 fines by councils for 20 minor driving offences under new plans

MOTORISTS could be hit with £70 fines for 20 minor driving errors under new plans by the Department of Transport.

Automatic fines are set to be dished out for minor penalties like driving in cycle lanes or stopping at box junctions.

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Instead of being enforced by police, councils will be given the responsibility to hand out civil penalties, despite Government budgets being cut.

The Department for Transport (DfT) said that it was drawing up legislation that would allow almost 300 local authorities outside London to enforce common road offences for the first time in England.

Other traffic contraventions that could result in £70 automatic fines will include ignoring banned left or right-hand turns, no entry signs or failing to give way to oncoming vehicles.

Only local authorities in London and Cardiff are able to use these powers at the moment.

London currently dishes out more than a million penalty notices every year to those committing moving traffic contraventions.

The department said the process will take "several months to bring into force" meaning it could be in place by the summer.

The change to the Traffic Management Act 2004 will allow 293 councils in England with existing responsibility for parking enforcement to apply for the wider powers.

The RAC has warned there was concern some councils would use the powers to generate cash, particularly at a time of shrinking support from the Government.

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Nicholas Lyes, RAC head of roads policy, said: "While it makes sense for all local authorities to have the power to enforce problematic hotspots, there is a risk that some councils might use this as a lucrative revenue-raising tool.

"We see box junctions as a potential flashpoint. Drivers often feel under pressure to move out of a junction or, on particularly large yellow box junctions, find it difficult to judge when they can make it across without getting trapped."

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