Local authorities handed out 888,760 bus lane penalties in 2017, with one road alone generating £1.4million in fines
Motorists in Great Britain paid £41.86 million for driving in bus lanes in 2017, with £6.5 million worth of fines being handed out by one city council alone.
New research has revealed authorities handed out 888,760 bus lane fines, with the most fine-heavy road – Oxford High Street – generating £1.41 million in penalties.
Glasgow City Council handed out the most fines – 108,735 – raising £6,524,100. Cardiff Council was next, fining 79,907 motorists to the tune of £5,593,490, while Ealing Council was third, taking in £3,116,100 from 23,970 fines.
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And, while many might expect Londoners to have paid the most bus lane penalties, Scotland actually saw the most infringements. Glasgow City Council and Aberdeen City Council caught 145,408 motorists combined – equating to fines of £7.6 million, and 18 per cent of the total penalties issued by the councils who shared their data.
The data comes as a result of Freedom of Information requests made by Confused.com. The price comparison site also commission a survey, which found 39 per cent of UK motorists admitted to having driven in a bus lane, with 48 per cent doing so unknowingly, with 41 per cent blaming unclear signage or road markings.
Not all bus lane infractions were innocent mistakes, though, with 28 per cent of motorists who have driven lane admitting to doing so on purpose.
Of the drivers who have found themselves in a bus lane, 35 per cent received fines, but 17 per cent of these motorists were able to successfully challenge the fine.
The data also shows 36 per cent want to see the lanes marked more clearly, with 41 per cent saying revenue made from the fines should be spent on making bus lane signage clearer.
Confused.com motoring editor Amanda Stretton called bus lanes “one of the most confusing challenges motorists face” on the UK’s “already chaotic roads”.
She also said drivers need “to be listened to” and that it was “only right that some of this fine money is invested to make bus lanes and signage clearer. While there is a place for driving fines, many feel bus lane charges are unfair and excessive, adding to the ream of costs burdening drivers.”
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