Manchester City Council hands out over thirteen thousand yellow box fines as enforcement expands outside London and Cardiff
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Manchester City Council hands out over thirteen thousand yellow box fines as enforcement expands outside London and Cardiff

For decades, yellow box junctions were mostly something Londoners and Cardiff drivers had to navigate carefully—but that’s changed fast.

Since 2022, councils across England have been given the power to police these tricky junctions, and drivers are now being hit hard.

In 2024 alone, nearly £1 million in fines was dished out to motorists just for one kind of traffic offence—stopping in yellow box junctions.

And it all came from a surprisingly small number of locations.

Councils Take Over as Enforcers—and the Fines Pile Up

The change in the law came in May 2022, when the Government allowed local authorities to apply for the power to enforce certain moving traffic offences.

That includes ignoring signs, driving in cycle lanes, and yes—getting stuck in yellow boxes.

Before that, only London and Cardiff could fine drivers for yellow box infringements. But now, other areas have joined in.

The RAC, which got hold of the data through Freedom of Information requests, says the spike in fines should raise serious concerns about how these junctions are being used.

Just 36 Yellow Boxes Generated £998,640 in Fines

That’s right—only 36 yellow boxes outside of London and Cardiff were actively enforced last year.

But together, they led to 32,748 penalty charge notices (PCNs) and a staggering £998,640 in fines.

Each fine is typically £70, but it’s reduced to £35 if paid within 21 days.

Even with that discount, the numbers add up fast.

Manchester Tops the Table for Most Fines Issued

The city that took the lion’s share of fines? Manchester.

With just six box junctions, Manchester City Council issued 13,130 fines—collecting £446,706.

That’s almost half of the entire yellow box fine revenue outside of London and Cardiff.

Other councils weren’t far behind:

  • Medway Council (Kent) brought in £145,162 from 4,433 fines.

  • Buckinghamshire Council collected £139,798 from 3,618 penalties.

  • The single most lucrative box? The Dennis Roundabout in Guildford, Surrey, racked up £81,445 from 4,250 PCNs.

Some Councils Barely Cashed In

Not all areas were aggressive with enforcement. For example:

  • Gloucestershire County Council issued just 30 fines, totaling £945.

  • Leeds City Council handed out 50, bringing in a modest £605.

It shows the disparity between areas and raises questions about whether some councils are being fairer—or just less focused on using yellow boxes as a source of income.

Appeals Are Rare, But Can Be Very Successful

While most drivers simply pay the fine, some do choose to challenge it—and in some cases, they win.

Medway Council, for example, saw an 87% success rate among drivers who appealed their PCNs.

That’s led to questions about whether all these boxes are being enforced fairly, or if some are more of a trap than a traffic solution.

The RAC Says This Should Be a Wake-Up Call

Rod Dennis, senior policy officer at the RAC, didn’t mince words.

He said that yellow boxes should not be used as revenue generators.

Ideally, a well-designed box shouldn’t catch many drivers at all.

“If a junction’s only producing a small number of fines, that usually means it’s working as intended,” he said.

“Councils need to make sure these boxes are placed correctly, sized appropriately, and not just set up to catch people out.”

Are Some Yellow Boxes Simply Too Big?

Interestingly, the RAC also had chartered engineer Sam Wright look at 100 yellow boxes in London and Cardiff.

In his analysis, 98 of them were found to be oversized—on average, 50% bigger than necessary.

This over-engineering creates more chances for drivers to get stuck, even when they’re following the rules with the best of intentions.

Final Thoughts: Enforcement or Exploitation?

So, where’s the line between safety enforcement and cash grab? With yellow box junctions now generating major revenue for councils across England, critics say more transparency and fairness are needed.

Especially when only a handful of boxes are behind nearly £1 million in fines.

The Local Government Association, along with Manchester, Medway, and Buckinghamshire councils, has been approached for comment.

But one thing is clear—drivers are paying the price, often quite literally, as new enforcement zones roll out.