More than 6,000 fines have been dished out to drivers caught out by Aberdeen’s low emission zone in its first month.
Aberdeen’s LEZ went live on June 1 and has been a controversial topic in the Granite City ever since.
Aimed at improving air quality, motorists with high-polluting vehicles who drive into the designated area will be issued a £60 fine – reduced to £30 if paid within 14 days.
But, many have blasted the zone as a “cash machine”, while others claim it has turned Aberdeen into a “no-go area”.
Aberdeen City Council previously estimated only 14% of drivers would be impacted by the clean air scheme.
However, following a freedom of information request submitted by the Press and Journal, we can reveal more than 6,000 LEZ fines have been dished out in the first month.
Read on to find out:
- How many fines were sent out, and how much it all adds up to
- How Aberdeen’s LEZ compares with Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow for the first month of fines
- And, where most fines were handed out in the Granite City
How many fines were sent out in the first month of Aberdeen’s LEZ — and how much do they add up to?
According to the Aberdeen City Council data, a staggering 6,057 fines were issued in the first month of the low emission zone going live. And, 262 appeals were received — but it is not clear if they have been successful or not.
That means in 31 days (including July 1), £363,420 worth of fines were generated.
Even if everyone paid their fine within 14 days, and thus reducing it to £30, that would still equate to £181,710.
And all money generated by the zone is ringfenced to either maintain the LEZ or fund other clean air initiatives across the city.
But, not all the cameras were turned on from the get-go, meaning there could have potentially been even more fines sent out…
It’s important to note that the data does not show if any of these fines were repeat offenders, meaning some fines may have been capped.
How do Aberdeen’s LEZ fines compare with Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow?
As mentioned, Aberdeen’s LEZ generated more fines than Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow in the first month of operation.
Enforcement of Edinburgh’s low emission zone also started on June 1, and it covers a large area of the city centre.
Since June 1, 6,030 LEZ fines have been recorded in the capital, meaning Aberdeen had 27 more fines in that time — making these results surprisingly close, given how much bigger Edinburgh is compared to the Granite City.
Dundee’s clean air zone went live on May 30, and a freedom of information request submitted by The Courier shows 2,966 fines were generated in the first six weeks.
Glasgow was the first city to roll out the LEZ last year, and it is approximately one square mile in size.
During the first month of enforcement, 2,897 fines were clocked.
That means that in the first month alone, Aberdeen’s LEZ had more than double the fines than Glasgow – and Dundee too.
Why do you think Aberdeen had the most LEZ fines than anywhere else in the first month? Let us know in our comments section below
Which street caught most motorists out in Aberdeen?
We previously reported that Virginia Street, Alford Place and Denburn Road had the highest number of fines in just 11 days of the scheme running.
And following the data, we inspected the three roads to see why they each had more than 500 fines — looking at if there was enough signage, if it was clear enough or whether it was just down to poor road layout.
But, now that a full month has passed these results have significantly changed.
Market Street had 1,340 fines over the month, taking the top spot. It appears the first fine was dated on June 7, which may have been when the cameras were turned on for the area.
Alford Place was the road with the second-highest number of fines at 1,157 meanwhile Denburn Road came in third with 1,131.
Virginia Street, which originally had the highest number of fines, came in fourth with 1,112.
The other roads all had under 300, while some were even under a dozen — including Crown Street where only one fine was clocked during the whole month.
‘Other cities have more mobile cameras moving around LEZ’, says Aberdeen council
An Aberdeen City Council spokeswoman said the low emission zone complies with national requirements and the scheme was publicised a year in advance.
She said: “The council introduced the LEZ to comply with national requirements. There is also a commitment in the Scottish Government’s Programme for Government 2017/18 to have LEZs in Scotland’s four major cities.
“The council publicised the introduction of the LEZ from the year-to-go countdown to when enforcement started via media releases, social media, paid advertisements, and on webpages including LEZ map, vehicle compliance checker, and the Getabout website.
“This ACC publicity was in addition to paid advertisements and media releases for all LEZs from the Scottish Government.
“Aberdeen City Council has a camera in place at every LEZ entrance point. Our understanding is that other Scottish cities enforce by having more mobile cameras moving around their LEZs.
“Our enforcement system may therefore be capturing more offending. It is worth noting that not all fines that are issued will be paid as many will be successfully appealed.
“All money generated by the LEZs must be used to either maintain the LEZ or fund other clean air initiatives across Aberdeen.”
Read more about Aberdeen’s LEZ:
- More than £100,000 of LEZ fines issued in just 11 days, but which Aberdeen road is worst so far?
- ‘We just invested all our money opening dream Aberdeen cafe – now LEZ could ruin it’
- We count how many drivers get caught out on Denburn during rush hour
- ‘It’s not a cash cow’: Council chief defends Aberdeen LEZ that ‘only affects 2% of drivers’
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