Infringements on smart motorways lead to £100,000 in fines
Fines totalling more than £100,000 have been issued to drivers for ignoring lane closures on smart motorways so far this year.
Court records from England and Wales have revealed that 378 drivers have been convicted of ignoring the red X closure signs since the start of this year.
This has led to fines of £48,409, costs of £33,255, and £20,183 in victim surcharges, adding up to a total cost of £101,847 for motorists.
RAC safety spokesman Rod Dennis said: “The signs play an absolutely fundamental role in keeping people safe. This is especially the case on those where the hard shoulder has been removed permanently, as the safety of a driver who has broken down in a live lane will depend entirely on other people reacting to the red X by moving to another lane.
“We implore drivers to take heed of these signs whenever and wherever they see them – not doing so might very well be putting people’s lives in danger.”
