Dozens of motorists have been taken to magistrates' courts in England and Wales after being caught driving in a motorway lane marked with a red X sign, according to court records analysed by the Press Association.
A total of 378 drivers have been convicted of ignoring the red X signs since the start of this year, with automatic cameras capturing the offences. The convictions have resulted in fines totalling £48,409, additional court costs of £33,255, and £20,183 in victim surcharges, bringing the total financial penalty to more than £100,000.
Penalties and Points
Most guilty motorists are also issued with three penalty points on their driving licences, and some may face a driving ban if they already have points accumulated from previous offences.
The RAC has expressed concern over the continued flouting of the red X rules, which were first introduced with the advent of smart motorways more than a decade ago.
RAC Safety Warning
Rod Dennis, RAC road safety spokesman, 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.”
Dennis added: “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.”
How the Red X System Works
The red X signs can be triggered automatically or by National Highways to close a lane when there has been a crash, a vehicle is stranded, or workers are in the carriageway. Cameras then catch offenders, and many thousands are issued with £100 fixed penalty fines.
The court convictions represent a further step beyond fixed penalties, with magistrates imposing higher fines and costs on those who fail to comply with the lane closure signals.
