£50 fine to be introduced for wrongly using Forth Road Bridge

A £50 penalty is set to be introduced to drivers who use the Forth Road Bridge.

The fine is in response to reports of drivers crossing on the Forth Road Bridge rather than the Queensferry Crossing.

One year on from the opening of the Queensferry Crossing, police are set to fine drivers who cross the wrong bridge after allowing an adjustment period for drivers to learn the new road layout.

Since the opening of the new crossing in August last year, the Forth Road Bridge has become a public transport corridor for taxis, buses and bikes.

Drivers will be fined for using the Forth Road Bridge.

Tim Shalcross from road safety group IAM Roadsmart said that the delays on the Queensferry Road has resulted in some drivers deliberately flaunting the rules.

He told Forth One: “There are plenty of warning signs and drivers ought to have more consideration, that said the Queensferry Crossing was supposed to be the solution to all traffic ills but it’s had nothing but rectifying work going on since it opened.”

Local Lib Dem MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “I think there was an expectation that when the Queensferry Crossing opened it would make life easier for commuters, but that has not been the case. We see that day in and day out, in terms of the traffic problems associated with the bridge.”

A Transport Scotland spokesman said: “We have always been very clear from the outset that the new bridge is a replacement crossing.

“The consent to proceed with the Forth Replacement Crossing via the Act of Parliament 2011 was based on the Queensferry Crossing acting as a replacement crossing.

“The intention of the Act was clear and received cross-party support when it passed through Parliament.

“As stated in the Act, the focus has always been on promoting the use of public transport as a more attractive option due to journey time savings/reliability for commuters through the public transport corridor to meet future demand for cross-Forth travel.”