Give warning letters not fines for first bus lane offence, says RAC
Give warning letters not fines for first bus lane offence, says RAC
Share:
English local authorities generated a combined £127.3 million in revenue from bus lane fines in 2022/23. Councils should issue warning letters rather than fines to drivers for their first offence of driving in a bus lane. the RAC has said. The RAC commissioned a poll which found that more than a third (36 per cent) of drivers have accidentally driven in a bus lane.
![[Only a small percentage admitted to deliberately driving in a bus lane]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/02/15/iStock-1398986965.jpg)
Two out of five (42 per cent) of respondents who said they have entered a bus lane by mistake were caught on camera and asked to pay a fine. It said the result demonstrates that councils should issue warning letters. Among drivers surveyed who have entered bus lanes operating only at certain times of the day in their area, 56 per cent believe the signage is inadequate.
Just 4 per cent of motorists admitted deliberately driving in a bus lane. RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: “We have always maintained that the majority of drivers don’t deliberately set out to drive in bus lanes, so it’s good to see this research confirming that.
“Our suspicions around the visibility and clarity of bus lane signage have also been borne out, with drivers expressing considerable concerns about signs often being hard to spot and difficult to understand. “We continue to call on councils to write to drivers who stray into bus lanes the first time, rather than simply issuing them with fines.
