Moneybox junction: The West London traffic light 'trap' that rakes in £2.7m a year

They probably generate more sheepish looks and furious hand signals than any other part of the road network.
But this particular box junction infuriates drivers more than most.
Angry motorists have dubbed the cross-hatched area the ‘Moneybox’ after it generated £2.7million in fines for the local council last year.

The Moneybox: The Bagley's Lane Junction with New King's Road, Fulham, described as a trap because an average 11 drivers are caught on camera stopping in the yellow grid every single day

A total of 40,634 penalty notices were issued to motorists in 2011-2012 – an average of 111 a day.
This is nearly three times the number of motorists caught out in the previous 12 months and more than five times the amount two years earlier.

 

Suspicious drivers have accused Hammersmith and Fulham Council, in West London, of designing the junction to deliberately catch them out and create a cash cow.
And similar traps could spring up across the country if councils outside London have their way and win the right to impose fines for a variety of highway offences.
Drivers should enter a box junction only if the exit road or lane is clear. They can wait inside it if they want to turn right and are stopped from doing so by oncoming traffic or other vehicles queuing to turn right. But motorists argue that the Moneybox – at the junction of fashionable but heavily congested New King’s Road and Bagley’s Lane in Fulham – has two sets of traffic lights which allow more motorists to enter the controlled area than can leave it.

Trap: How drivers are lured on to the yellow lines

One to avoid: This map shows the location of the junction in Fulham, west London

FINES: COMING SOON TO A BOX JUNCTION NEAR YOU...

At the moment only councils in London have the power to issue fines for traffic violations, like the ones at Fulham's Moneybox.

However about 20 councils from across the UK have held talks with the government about taking over the enforcement of 26 driving offences from police.

At present they can only fine drivers for parking offences and driving in bus lanes, but if they win the new powers their remit will be expanded to include making U-turns and driving in cycle lanes, as well as stopping in a box junction and a range of other offences.

Campaigners have said they fear councils will use the fines as a stealth tax to raise revenue.

As a result, many are receiving £65 fines, which rise to £130 if they are not paid within two weeks.
Victims include Susanne More, who lives in Twickenham, South-West London, and has been fined twice. She said: ‘There’s something fundamentally wrong with the number of fines issued to drivers going into this junction. It seems the council has decided this is a really good money-making scheme.
‘The yellow box is far too long. It doesn’t give you enough time to get out and the signalling is awful.’
Musician Jonathan Majin added: ‘Drivers are frequently lured into the yellow box and trapped there by traffic lights. It is a complex, confusing and unclear junction.’
Fines are being issued to drivers heading along New King’s Road towards Chelsea. As they enter the junction, another set of lights 110ft up the road remains red for between 25 and 40 seconds.
Only four cars can wait legally behind the first lights, leaving the rest at risk of being spotted on CCTV. Tickets are automatically sent to the vehicle owner.
Motorists are also getting caught as they wait to turn right into Bagley’s Lane from New King’s Road.
A council spokesman said no one would be penalised if they ‘just stuck to the rules’, but Transport for London said it would consider improving the junction.
About 20 councils have asked to take over enforcement of 26 road offences from police, including those involving box junctions, U-turns and cycle lanes. Critics say they will be used to generate income.