Putney High Street in Nation's Top Ten for Driving Fines
Freedom of Information request shows over £500,000 given out in a year
Over 8,000 PCNs issued in one year. Picture: Wandsworth Council
Putney High Street has made the list of the roads in the UK where the most driving fines are issued.
The data was collected by price-comparison site Confused.com by asking each local authority which road in its area was the location for the highest number of penalty charge notices (PCNs) in the financial year 2020/21.
Wandsworth Council revealed that Putney High Street had seen 8,751 issued at a total value of £538,655.
This was the tenth highest in the country, with all of those in the top ten in London. The High Street got off lightly compared to Browning Road in Newham where more than £3million in fines were given out and Dermody Road in Lewisham where the total was not far behind with five streets seeing over a million pounds worth of fines doled out.
Drivers could be issued a penalty charge notice (PCN) for various reasons, including parking offences, straying into bus lanes or blocking a yellow box junction.
The data reveals £19.5 million was collected by councils for offences committed on the top 103 streets over the 12 month period. And £3.3 million of this was collected on the worst offending street in the East London Borough of Newham alone.
| MOST EXPENSIVE STREETS IN LONDON FOR PENALTY CHARGE NOTICES ISSUED TO DRIVERS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Council | Street | Amount | Number of tickets |
| Newham | Browning Road | £3,316,255 |
67,557 |
| Lewisham | Dermody Road | £2,956,171 |
48,223 |
| Hackney | Lansdowne Drive | £2,826,415 |
47,783 |
| City of London | Cornhill | £1,831,270 |
30,943 |
| Tower Hamlets | Wapping High Street | £1,061,068 |
18,681 |
| Barking & Dagenham | Station Parade | £937,764 |
15,152 |
| Havering | Tangent Link | £846,892 |
11,319 |
| Harrow | Charlton Road / D’Arcy Avenue | £655,201 |
12,415 |
| Camden | Southampton Row | £599,597 |
8,740 |
| Wandsworth | Putney High Street | £538,655 |
8,751 |
More than half (52%) of motorists who received a PCN for a parking offence said they appealed it. However, data shows that more than 7 in 10 (73%) of appeals made were successful, with drivers either paying a reduced price or nothing at all. The top reasons for drivers to appeal were because they felt the
Alex Kindred, Car Insurance Expert at Confused.com, commented, “Just like many of our motoring bills, the cost of penalty charge notices (PCNs) is an extra strain on the pockets of drivers.
“A third (33%) of drivers believe that councils should spend more money on making road signs clearer, so that drivers don’t have to fork out for unfair fines in the first place. In turn, this would make roads safer, drivers less confused, and help to reduce the cost of driving.
“Our research found that more than half (52%) of motorists who received a PCN for a parking offence have appealed it. But only a small number of drivers (6%) feel that their local council has an easy process to appeal a PCN fine.
“If you've received a PCN fine, you might be able to challenge the decision if you think it was unfair. The process may vary depending on your local authority, so it's important to check this before doing so. If you wish to challenge your fine, you should do so within 28 days. Our checklist offers further guidance on what to expect from the process and the type of evidence you may need in order to support your appeal.”
We asked Wandsworth Council for a comment on the figures but have not received a reply.
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July 15, 2022
