Councils across England and Wales will receive stronger powers to fine driving for minor traffic offenses.
The Department for Transport is set to hand over more power to councils so they can stop drivers from stopping in yellow box junctions and performing bad turns.
Councils could hand drivers £70 for breaking minor rules such as making poor turns in roads or going down a no-entry street.
READ MORE: The driving laws being brought in for March 2022
It has yet to be announced when the powers will be brought in but the Governmen t could hand over power to councils as quickly as March.
The rules are expected to be published by councils in advance with guidelines to ensure motorists are not unfairly targeted.
Almost 300 councils in England, which already have responsibility for enforcing parking offenses, will be able to apply for the powers.
However, the powers have been criticized by motoring groups who fear that some councils could be trigger-happy when it comes to handling out fines.
Research carried out by RAC found motorists from London and Cardiff were collectively fined £58m in a year for moving traffic offenses.
A single yellow box junction in Fulham, west London, for example, drew fines of about £1.7 million a year.
RAC spokesman, Simon Williams, said: “We’re fearful that some authorities may be over enthusiastic in using their new powers for revenue-raising reasons.
“Drivers who blatantly ignore signage or highway rules should expect penalties but there are instances which are not always clear-cut. Large yellow box junctions can be particularly problematic to get across without stopping.
“So it’s important common sense is applied rather than instantly issuing penalties to drivers. The first thing councils should do is review the road layout at these junctions.”
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