One woman revealed she has been fined £80 for committing a common driving offence on the road, but some have claimed they also had ‘no idea’ it was being policed
Once you’ve passed your driving test, you must stay alert to the laws and the Highway Code whenever you’re behind the wheel. Breaking road rules could result in hefty penalties, plus points on your licence that might eventually lead to a driving ban.
Keeping your wits about you on the roads also means being aware of what other motorists are doing, because if they do something that causes you to breach a traffic rule, you could still face consequences. That’s exactly what happened to one woman on TikTok, who revealed she’s been hit with an £80 penalty for failing to follow one straightforward rule.
The woman posted a video of the camera footage she received with her ticket, showing her silver car stationary in a box junction, which resulted in the fine.
She insisted she was forced to halt in the box because another vehicle emerged from the side road without checking before turning and occupied the space ahead of the area where she would have stopped.
Over the video, she wrote: “£80 to pay because of you.”
And in the caption, she added: “He didn’t even look.”
The second car’s actions are visible in the camera footage, but commenters have argued the vehicle pulled out and started turning into her lane before she entered the yellow box, meaning she should have stopped before it.
One person said: “That car pulled out in front of you before you crossed the box. You had time to stop.”
Another person wrote: “I mean, once that car pulled out, you should’ve just stopped.”
A third commented: “Respectfully, the yellow box is a warning for both of you. They should have given way to you, but you had time to stop behind the line.”
Others confessed that while they knew stopping in a box junction was against road rules, they had “no idea” it was something being monitored with cameras or “actually policed”.
What are yellow box junctions?
According to the RAC, yellow box junctions are road markings used to prevent vehicles from blocking intersections on busy streets. They’re typically found at congested junctions to ensure vehicles don’t enter intersections unless they can clear them on the other side.
Yellow box junctions are designed to help maintain traffic flow and reduce delays, which is why fines are issued when vehicles stop inside them.
What is the fine for stopping inside a yellow box junction?
Although the woman in her TikTok video claimed she was fined £80, the maximum fine in most parts of the country is actually £70. However, in London, you could receive a fixed penalty notice of up to £130. It’s unclear where the woman received her fine, so it’s possible she was driving in London and landed a slightly pricier £80 ticket.
Fines are usually issued when a vehicle is stationary within the yellow box when the lights are red or cannot clear the box due to congestion. A fine can also be issued if the vehicle is blocking other cars from entering or leaving a junction.
There are, however, some exceptions to the box rule. If a vehicle enters the yellow box but is still moving, or if they entered the box while a traffic light was amber and couldn’t clear the box in time, the driver may not be fined.
To avoid fines, it’s always wise to make sure you can clear the junction before entering a yellow box area, especially when there’s heavy congestion ahead of you.