Road user charge fines top £450,000

Penalty charges totalling £450,000 have been issued since the HGV road user levy – which is designed to bill foreign operators for use of UK roads – was introduced last April, according to Alastair Peoples, chief executive of the Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA).

All vehicles over 12 tonnes using UK roads now have to pay the levy, although UK-registered trucks are allowed to offset the levy against the cost of their vehicle excise duty each time it is renewed.

The levy had long been advocated by industry voices including the Road Haulage Association prior to its introduction last year. Charges vary between £1.70 and £10 per day, or £85 to £1,000 per year.

Alastair Peoples said the charge had been a huge success, and confirmed that most UK hauliers have complied with the rules, as have most foreign-registered vehicle operators.

DVSA officers check compliance at the roadside and also use automatic number-plate recognition (ANPR) cameras for enforcement – while failure to comply can incur £300 on-the-spot fines, or an impounded vehicle for those unable to pay.