Bad Bath drivers could face new fines
If you've ever been guilty in the past, you need to stop blocking yellow boxes
Drivers making illegal manoeuvres in hotspots in Bath and Keynsham could be slapped with £70 fines as transport chiefs seek to ramp up enforcement.
Low-level traffic offences like banned turns or stopping on a yellow box are not a priority for the police so Bath and North East Somerset Council is applying for new powers.
It insists the scheme is not a money spinner and is instead aimed at increasing compliance in high-risk areas.
If government agrees to award the powers, drivers will be caught out using automatic number plate recognition cameras and then potentially issued with a £70 fine.
Officers clocked more than 200 breaches on a single day in Monmouth Street, where drivers either tried to turn right into Charles Street or stopped on the junction’s yellow box.
There are low but consistent numbers of motorists making the dangerous right turn from George Street into Gay Street, with similar numbers risking a head-on collision or hitting a pedestrian turning left from Newbridge Road into Newbridge Hill according to the council.
It also wants to enforce the 7.5-tonne weight limit on the railway bridge in Brook Road, and the banned right turn from the High Street into Temple Street in Keynsham to stop drivers from making a dangerous traffic movement across a lane of traffic.
The council will be able to consider other locations for enforcement in the future if it secures the powers, subject to a minimum six-week public consultation, without any further application to the government.
Residents are being invited to suggest other hot spot locations to consider in the current consultation that runs until April 11. The powers would cover driving in formal cycle lanes but not speeding.
Councillor Manda Rigby, cabinet member for transport, said: “These powers would help improve the safety of our roads for all users. The locations we are proposing are hotspots where road signage is heavily contravened, posing a danger or causing congestion.
“This is not about raising revenue or an easy way to make money for the council – over time we hope to improve compliance so that our roads are safer for everyone.
“To secure the powers from the government we need to get the first tranche of locations right, so we’re asking you to give us your feedback on these in our consultation.”
The powers could be in force by June 1, when the council would begin work to finalise the installation of equipment required to begin enforcement action.