Moving Traffic Enforcement

Background

Gloucestershire County Council is planning to use new powers to improve safety, tackle congestion and support public travel and active travel by enforcing moving traffic contraventions, such as:

• driving through a 'No Entry' sign
• turning left or right when instructed not to do so i.e. banned turns
• entering yellow box junctions when the exit is not clear
• driving where and when motor vehicles are prohibited
• driving on routes that are for buses and taxis only
• Weight restrictions

These powers form Part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004, which allows highway authorities outside of London to enforce moving traffic contraventions. However, the legislation has never been introduced to Parliament and at the present time these moving traffic contraventions can only be enforced by the police under criminal law.

The Department for Transport (DfT) announced in 2020 that they would be fully enacting the remaining elements of the Traffic Management Act, permitting local highway authorities outside of London to use approved camera devices to enforce moving traffic contraventions.

The council is keen to use these powers to make our roads safer, less congested and to support public transport, active travel and improve air quality. Our first step is to apply to the DfT for a Designation Order to enable the council to use these powers.

We will use Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology to identify drivers that breach restrictions, and a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) will be issued. We aim to use these enforcement powers to:

• improve road safety
• tackle congestion issues.
• increase the number of drivers complying with the rules of the road
• Support public transport by improving journey times
• Promote active travel such and walking and cycling
• Improving the air quality of towns and cities

The council’s application to the DfT will state our intention to enforce all the traffic signs that the government has agreed to implement. If you are in contravention of the restriction you may receive a Penalty Charge Notice, the cost is £70 or can be paid at discounted rate of £35 if paid within 21 days.

Overview

Not all the signs above will be enforced immediately by the council if powers are granted. The council will be implementing enforcement, initially, at the five locations below:

The county council will be setting out the approach to the enforcement of moving traffic contraventions. In line with DfT guidance, it will state that ANPR cameras can only be used to enforce against moving traffic contraventions at sites where all other methods of deterrent have been tried, but further measures are still required. The five sites above all meet these criteria, and any future sites will have to go through the same rigorous assessment process. It should be noted that all ANPR equipment will be fully certified by the Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA).

The Survey

We are undertaking a consultation to understand your views on GCC’s plans to use new powers to improve safety and reduce congestion by enforcing moving traffic contraventions.

If you have any questions regarding these proposals, please email movingtraffic@gloucestershire.gov.uk. Please use the reference ‘Moving Traffic’.

Please ensure your response reaches us by Friday 18 November.