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The Department for Transport is believed to be gearing up to hand over control of traffic offence fines to local authorities.
The unconfirmed move comes following reports that a number of local councils have expressed a desire to take the reins of handling fines for minor motoring offences such as driving in bus and cycle lanes, entering a yellow box and making illegal turns, and has sparked concerns over the potential for profiteering.
Should the move go ahead, it would apply to local authorities outside London, as the capital's boroughs already independently manage their traffic fines.
According to The Daily Telegraph, the DfT has discussed the prospect with 20 councils including Birmingham, Brighton and Hove, Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Plymouth, Reading, Salford, Sheffield and Southampton.
It has been suggested that offences would be spotted with CCTV cameras and that companies offering number-plate recognition systems have already approached some local authorities.
Paul Watters, head of roads policy at The AA, told BusinessCar: "The powers have always been there [to change management] since the Traffic Management Act in 2004.
"The question is what it means and how it's enforced. Only some bold authorities will go for it and for those that do, it's essential that the minister offers guidance.
"The big risk is that it will not act as a deterrent but will act as a revenue-raiser rather than improving driver behaviour and traffic conditions.
"For fleet, it's another paper chase. It's another set of penalty notices carried out and there will be appeals."
However, BVRLA chairman John Lewis claimed the move may not be detrimental and it could improve congestion hot spots. Speaking exclusively to BusinessCar, he said: "If we look back, we don't have a lot of evidence to say London has used this as a cash cow.
"Given the lack of police enforcement, there is a school of thought that says this could benefit certain pinch points and it's unlikely that local authorities are going to spend millions of pounds on cameras."
The DfT issued the following statement: "No new powers would be handed to local authorities. without a full and thorough consultation exercise with all road users and stakeholders."
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