England roads where drivers most likely to get fined revealed as some councils rake in £200k an HOUR
PARKING fines and traffic penalties are helping to rake in huge sums for councils – to the tune of up to £200,000 an hour.
A survey shows that one junction alone in England was responsible for boosting a local authority’s coffers by close to £11million in 2018.
Councils across England reaped £376million in parking fines – about a quarter of the total £1.6billion in fines last year – reports the .
The bulk, though, came from motorists being stung while caught driving in bus lanes, or flouting time restrictions.
As a result of a freedom of information request, a survey of councils found that Bank junction in London brought in nearly £11million in fines for the City of London – with 175,660 tickets issued.
Two years ago, The Sun Online reported that unlucky drivers had been hit with almost £7m in fines at this six-way intersection, which has strict restrictions to improve safety.
Tougher constraints were put in place as the accident black spot was known for its high collision and casualty record, according to a spokesman for the City of London Corporation in 2017.
A young cyclist, newlywed Ying Tao, was run over and killed at the junction in 2015.
The Express reports that motorists in the capital are the hardest hit by penalties, with the likes of Barking Road in Newham earning more than £1.5million, thanks to vehicles stopping illegally in a yellow box junction.
Its findings are in line with a report in June, that said councils in England look set to make a record surplus of £1billion from parking charges and penalties in 2019.
This was on the back of analysis from RAC Foundation, which found that local authorities expected to benefit from a total surplus of £913m from parking infringements over the year.
Hugh Bladon, a founder member of the Alliance of British Drivers, pointed out that motorists are often caught unawares because of poor signage on roads, which makes schemes "very easy to miss".
He added: "The people who end up getting caught a lot of the time are not the locals, who are aware of the schemes, but visitors concentrating on being safe on the roads.
"It is grossly unjust that in the majority of cases people are being fined for what is a simple mistake. All these things are sent to extract money from motorists."
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However, a City of London Corporation spokesman said that the organisation's priority at Bank junction was to improve safety.
Describing the £130 penalty charge as a "deterrent", he said that money raise via fines would go towards highway or road maintenance.
Outside of London, Brighton and Hove's Western Road reaped £205,790, while High Street in Slough saw 5,400 being dished out - bringing in £123,387 in fees.
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