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Dartford Crossing penalties pass the 350,000 mark

Date: 11 May 2015   |   Author: Daniel Puddicombe

Highways England issued 354,920 fixed-penalty charge notices for Dartford Crossing non-payments between 30 November 2014 and 4 March 2015, according to a Freedom of Information request.

There are no toll booths on the crossing, having been phased out in November last year, meaning motorists can pay only the crossing fee (a maximum of £2.50 for a single car journey) if they have a Dart Charge, pre-paid, online account, or pay online, by phone, text or at a Payzone shop after using the crossing.

The Dart Charge system uses automatic number plate recognition technology to track vehicle numbers plates and then administer a charge, or fine, to that vehicle.

Based on the standard Dartford Crossing penalty charge of £70, which must be paid within 28 days, it means the Government body might have collected as much as £24.8m in fines.

If paid within 14 days, the fine drops to £35, while if the fine isn't paid within the 28-day window it rises to £105. The limit for paying after a journey is set at midnight on the day after travel.

A Highways England spokesman told BusinessCar that it is "doing everything it can to help people avoid paying the penalty".

"On the first offence, per vehicle, we will send a warning letter giving drivers an extra 14 days to pay the original crossing charge," he added.

All revenue from the crossing is passed to the Treasury, and the money has to be spent on transport improvements, the spokesman told BusinessCar.

Highways England revealed that 2024 PCNs were cancelled following disputes based on the incorrect identification of a vehicle by the ANPR cameras.

The agency said between 30 November 2014 and 6 January 2015 2,019,852 vehicles used the Queen Elizabeth bridge and 2,003,932 vehicles used the tunnel, the two elements that comprise the Dartford Crossing.

Several FoI requests made to the Government-owned Highways England were made public in early April. According to one, cars made up 70% of Dart Charge non-payments during the months of January and February. Two-axle goods vehicles made up 22% of non-payments and multi-axle goods vehicles completed the total.

"There's a lack of awareness within the general motoring arena [of the new Dartford Crossing payment system," said Natalie Chapman, head of policy for London and the South East at the Freight Transport Association. "I suspect a lot of these penalties are coming from car drivers who are crossing infrequently and making ad-hoc journeys."



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