IRATE drivers are calling for a notorious Fulham box junction to be reviewed after claims that it is nothing but a 'money trap' for the local authority.
Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show Hammersmith and Fulham council raked in just under £2m last year by fining motorists who stopped in the yellow box at Bagley's Lane and New King's Road.
The total is 10,000 times higher than the borough's lowest-earning box junction at Hammersmith Road and Butterwick on the Hammersmith gyratory, which contributed just £195 to the council coffers.
However that one is on the same roundabout as the second highest earner, at the junction of Butterwick and Talgarth Road, which brought in £715,000.
Drivers are unsurprised at the figures for the Fulham box junction, claiming it does not improve traffic flow, that enforcing it is a 'cynical' way for the authority to make money, and that it is impossible to get through the traffic lights without stopping in the box.
David Le Brocquy, 54, a resident of Kensington High Street whose family have been caught twice at Bagley's Lane, said:
"It's demonstrably exceptional.
"The odds of getting a penalty charge notice in that junction are outrageously high and are wildly out of consistency with the other box junctions in the borough.
"It shows that there is a lack of logic in how these fines are issued and shows lazy cynical money making.
"They are without doubt exploiting the driver."
If caught in the junction, drivers can be fined a minimum of £65.
Last year 47,562 PCNs were issued across the borough to drivers caught in box junctions, three-quarters of which were in Bagley's Lane.
About 96 fines are sent out every day for infringements at the site, and frustrated drivers have set up internet forums to discuss this particular spot.
Susanne More, a Twickenham resident, said: "I went through the junction in August 2010 and when I got a PCN I thought nothing of it, it was only when I got caught again that I got suspicious.
"With the £65 fine still fresh in my mind, I approached it with a lot of caution. I'm not trying to whinge, but there's something fundamentally wrong with the number of fines issued to drivers going into this junction.
"It seems like the council have decided that this is a really good money making scheme.
"I think the yellow box is far too long and doesn't give you enough time to get out and the signalling is awful. It really needs to be looked at."
However deputy leader of the council, Nick Botterill claims that enforcement of yellow box junctions is essential as it deters 'drivers from causing unnecessary congestion' and all fines are issued on 'robust grounds'.
He said: "The figures reflect that H&F has got more effective at enforcing the rules over the years, by using more reliable technology and increasing the number of junctions covered.
"The vast majority of motorists understand that they should not enter yellow box junctions unless the exit is clear and if the minority who ignore this didn’t do so, then we would not have to issue any fines at all."
