Kent County Council introduces new system to tackle bad driving habits

The Kent County Council is set to roll out a pioneering initiative aimed at curbing reckless driving behaviour across the region, with the potential for motorists to face fines for a range of infractions under the scheme. The newly proposed system includes drivers caught flouting road rules, who could face fines of up to £70 for various misdemeanours, including driving in bus lanes, disregarding no entry signs, and obstructing yellow box junctions, among other violations of traffic regulations.

Notably, first-time offenders will be given a reprieve, with a single offence within the initial six months of the scheme's implementation excused. Subsequent fines can be reduced by half if settled within the first three weeks. To enforce these measures, Kent County Council plans to deploy a network of state-of-the-art cameras equipped with Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology across the county. These cameras will monitor road activity, capturing instances of illegal behaviour by motorists.

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Upon detection of any contraventions, the collected data will be analysed by the council, and fines will be administered to offenders by the Transport Cabinet Committee. While an official launch date for the scheme has yet to be announced, it is anticipated to commence in spring 2024, pending final approvals and logistical preparations.

"Once the ANPR camera has registered a contravention, the back-office system processes the information and identifies whether the vehicle is on an allowed list. This is a list of the registration plates of authorised vehicles, in which case no further action is taken. If the plate is not on the allowed list, the system sends the captured evidence for review. At this stage, a member of the team assesses the evidence to establish if a contravention has occurred. If it has, the case progresses to issue a warning notice or PCN. If the evidence shows otherwise, for example, a car pulls into a bus lane to enable a police car to pass, the case is cancelled, and no further action is taken," a document from the Kent Country Council obtained by RAC reads.

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