PCN code 31: Entering and stopping in a box junction when prohibited

Code

31

Type

Moving traffic

Level

Moving traffic

Who uses it

Councils with moving traffic powers (most of London, and English councils designated since 2022), and Welsh councils where enforced.

What the council's evidence usually is

Camera video of the vehicle entering and stopping in the box.

Points to check before you pay

• The Highway Code (rule 174) lets you enter and wait when turning right if you are only held up by oncoming traffic or other vehicles waiting to turn right.
• Was your exit clear when you entered, and something changed suddenly (for example a vehicle ahead stopped without warning)?
• Are the box markings complete and visible in the footage?
• Outside London: was this the first time at a camera that started enforcing in the last 6 months? A warning should have been sent.

If one of these applies, the usual statutory ground is that the contravention did not occur. Other grounds (not the owner, stolen vehicle, already paid, wrong amount, procedural impropriety) apply whatever the code. The checker shows which fit your case.

How much is a code 31 PCN?

In London bus lane and moving traffic PCNs are £160, halved if paid within the discount period on the PCN (London Councils says 21 days for CCTV PCNs; some boroughs state 14) (London Councils). Outside London councils set the charge within the national bands, and the discount is 50% if paid within 21 days of a camera PCN being served (SI 2022/71).

The Highway Code says you must not enter a box junction until your exit is clear, but you may enter and wait to turn right if only oncoming traffic or other right-turners hold you up (rule 174).

Cameras using code 31

• Ashton Old Road / Chancellor Street and Fairfield Street box junction (Manchester)
• Bayswater Road / Brook Street box junction (Westminster)
• Bishops Bridge Road / Gloucester Terrace box junction (Westminster)
• Bishops Bridge Road / Westbourne Terrace box junction (Westminster)
• Carterhatch Lane EN1 / Great Cambridge Road Slip Road box junction (Enfield)
• Central Road, Worcester Park / Green Lane box junction (Sutton)
• Charing Cross Road / Cranbourn Street box junction (Westminster)
• Chelsea Bridge Road / Ebury Bridge Road box junction (Westminster)
• Chepstow Road / Chepstow Place box junction (Westminster)
• Deansgate / Blackfriars Street and St Marys Gate box junction (Manchester)
• Deansgate / Bridge Street and John Dalton Street box junction (Manchester)
• Deansgate / Great Bridgewater Street and Liverpool Road box junction (Manchester)

Questions