Latest news with #penaltynotices
Irish Times
15-07-2025
- Irish Times
Gardaí handed out more than 6,000 fines to motorists for unlawful use of bus lanes last year
Gardaí gave out more than 6,000 penalty notices to drivers unlawfully using bus lanes last year, a 28 per cent increase on 2023. Dublin and Cork city had the largest rise in bus lane enforcement last year, with 4,326 fixed-charge penalty notices issued across Dublin Garda regions alone. This is a 34 per cent jump on the 3,217 notices issued across the county the year before. In the first three months of this year, more than 2,100 such penalty notices have been issued across Dublin, signalling potential for a further significant rise in bus lane enforcement this year. Drivers in Cork city were hit with 690 bus lane infringement penalty notices last year, up 34 per cent from 2023 when 515 were given. READ MORE In Limerick, 590 fixed charged penalty notices were issued to drivers unlawfully in bus lanes in 2024, a small increase from 2023's figure of 545. Across the State there were 6,127 fines issued for unlawful parking or driving in bus lanes last year, up from 4,783 in 2023, An Garda Síochána figures showed. In the first three months of this year, gardaí issued 2,663 penalty notices nationwide. A fixed-charge penalty notice allows an alleged offender to pay a fine within a set period to avoid prosecution. A spokeswoman for An Garda Síochána said the 'increases in bus lane enforcement are primarily, as could be expected, in the large urban areas of Dublin, Cork and Limerick'. 'Pro-active policing plans, endeavouring to increase high visibility patrols, has resulted in more policing activity and therefore increases in fixed-charge notices and other summary offences,' she said. In April last year Garda Commissioner Drew Harris issued a directive to all members to conduct 30 minutes of high-visibility roads policing operations during each tour of duty, she said, adding that this approach was based on a Swedish policing model. 'The aim is to increase Garda visibility, which has the effect of moderating driver and road-user behaviour. Increased enforcement is an added benefit,' the spokeswoman said. The 48 fixed charge penalty notices last year issued in Galway last year was a decrease from the 74 in 2023. Laois, Offaly, Donegal, Sligo and Leitrim recorded fewer than 10 fixed charge penalty notices for bus lane infringements in each of 2023 and 2024. Garda 'mobility devices' provided to every member contain an app enabling gardaí to quickly issue fixed-charge notices. In 2024, more than 159,000 such notices were issued on mobility devices for a range of offences. Green Party spokesman on transport, Dublin City councillor Feljin Jose, said the Dublin figures were 'a drop in the ocean when it comes to the actual level of encroachment in bus lanes'. He said further enforcement should not necessarily require gardaí 'standing on every corner' as 'countries around Europe and the US use bus-mounted cameras' that can detect and video vehicles in bus lanes. 'The technology for all of that exists, the legislation should exist, but we're still not getting the implementation,' he said. A Labour councillor for Cork City, John Maher, said the area's figures would be much higher 'with more enforcement'. 'In general, people don't obey the rules of the road when it comes to use of bus lanes', he said. 'While the numbers are improving, they are not a reality of what is happening each day on the ground and we need better enforcement.' Damian Boylan, a Fine Gael councillor in Cork city, said the figures for Cork were evidence of 'active enforcement'. 'That kind of consistent policing is important. For public transport to function properly, the public must understand that blocking bus lanes isn't just an inconvenience to drivers and passengers – it's an offence.' He said he supported the use of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras to 'ensure consistency and reduce over-reliance on gardaí having to be physically present at all times'.
BBC News
26-06-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
Guildford junction generates largest revenue in yellow box fines
A junction in Surrey generated the largest revenue in fines from drivers who entered yellow box junctions illegally in England last year, new research has who enter these boxes, which are designed to ensure smooth traffic flow, risk a fine unless their exit is clear or they are waiting to turn obtained by the RAC found that 4,250 penalty notices (PCNS) were issued for the Dennis Roundabout in Guildford - costing drivers a total of £81, figures show that drivers across the country were fined £998,640 during this period, with Medway Council in Kent raising £145,162 from 4,433 PCNs - the second highest amount by any local authority, after Manchester. The RAC says these statistics, obtained through Freedom of Information requests, should "send alarm bells ringing in council offices".Senior policy officer Rod Dennis said councils should not use yellow boxes as a "revenue-raising opportunity"."It's vital box junctions are used in the correct places and are only as big as absolutely necessary," he said."They must be fairly set up so that drivers don't find themselves stranded through no fault of their own." Fines 'enormously high' Legislation introduced in May 2022 has enabled all councils across England to apply for enforcement close to £1m recouped last year came from 36 yellow box junctions where fines were enforced, outside London and Cardiff. A total of 32,748 PCNs were issued last year, an amount described as "enormously high" by the RAC. A spokesperson for Surrey County Council said: "There are two yellow boxes on the [Dennis] roundabout. "Prior to applying for moving traffic enforcement powers, we carried out a preliminary survey of these yellow boxes, which found that there were potentially about 3,000 contraventions a week on each of them. "This reflected how congested the roundabout is due to the high levels of non-compliance with the yellow boxes."Alex Paterson, Medway Council's portfolio holder for community safety, highways and enforcement, said box junctions are not about "catching people out". He added: "Road markings at these locations have been updated to ensure nobody could reasonably claim not to have seen them, and we have even issued warning notices instead of fines for first-time offences during a six-month grace period."
BBC News
11-05-2025
- BBC News
Number of school absence fines in Barnsley double in a year
The number of fines issued to parents in Barnsley for unauthorised school absences by their children more than doubled last year, new figures reveal.A total of 5,845 penalty notices were issued in the borough for the school year 2023/24 - a 105% increase on the 2,861 dished out in the previous numbers reflect the introduction of stricter government-set attendance policies, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Trevor Cave, cabinet spokesperson for children's services at the council, said: "Improving attendance is a priority for us, and we will continue to work with schools and parents to share the importance of preventing term-time absences." There were also 1,172 penalty notices issued for parents whose children accumulated unauthorised absences despite receiving a warning letter or Notice to Improve (NTI). These notices were typically the result of ongoing, unexplained absences, rather than a one-time term-time holiday. So far this school year, Barnsley has issued 2,320 penalty notices for unauthorised borough had the highest rate of school fines issued of any council area across England last year, with 183 per 1,000 pupil the new system, which applies across England, councils must issue fines in certain cases of unauthorised absence, such as a family holiday not agreed with the school, or when attendance remains low even after a formal warning. The policy is set nationally by the Department for Education but is administered locally by each fine is £80 if paid within 21 days, rising to £160 if not paid within that time. If the fine isn't paid at all, the case can go to court, where parents may face a larger fine or other Council said the money from paid fines covered the costs of running the system, and that term-time holidays could negatively affect a child's education. Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North
