A yellow box junction has raked in a whopping £450,000 in just eight months, as drivers consistently get caught out.
Residents report “constant tooting, screaming and shouting” as drivers rack up fines through falling into the cash grab.
The junction, located in Kingston-upon-Thames in South West London, has two yellow boxes positioned adjacent to each other, right in front of a set of traffic lights big enough to fit two small cars.
Between January and August of this year, it has generated just over £450,000 from drivers who entered the yellow boxes illegally, most of the time unintentionally.
Roland Head, who has run The Real Butchers, which is next to the yellow boxes, said he often stands by the window and counts the numerous drivers who get stuck on the yellow grid.
In just 25 minutes, he counted up five on a Wednesday morning.
He told The Times: “It’s not about traffic control, it’s a cash cow. The local Government isn’t going to change anything because it’s making them money.”
The council issued 6,568 penalty charge notices (PCNs) for the junction, roughly 27 penalties a day.
The two yellow boxes have made over £450,000
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It cost drivers a total of £451,405 in PCNs, according to a Freedom of Information Act inquiry.
The Highway Code notes that drivers must not enter a yellow box until they can drive over it without needing to stop, to help traffic flow on busy roads.
Many people believe the fines can be unfair, often being punished for somebody else’s poor driving.
The two yellow boxes at the Kingston Road junction have been in place since 2015, but fines were not introduced until July 2020.
The junction brings in the most revenue across the country, with its closest competitor in Greenwich still scooping over £415,000.
Mr Head said: “The week before last, a young lady had driven her Lexus on top of [the bollard], and it had to be taken off by the garage up the road.
“A couple of days later, we came to work one morning and there were bits of glass everywhere that had come off a BMW.”
The Kingston Road junction is less than half a mile from New Malden ambulance depot, which means ambulances often get stuck behind other cars unwilling to move into a yellow box for fear of being fined.
Drivers have to pay £160 if they stop in a yellow box and take longer than a fortnight to pay
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PASince April, the fine for a yellow box junction is £160 in all London boroughs, reduced to £80 if paid in the first 14 days.
Outside of the capital, it is £70, reduced to £35.
The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames said all income generated from PCNs is ring-fenced for essential traffic and parking management.
A spokesman said: “These two yellow box junctions are in place to prevent traffic from blocking each junction, and to allow vehicles to enter and exit side roads, and to allow clear sight of pedestrians and cyclists to motorists who are turning right into Elm Road, to improve safety for all road and pavement users.”