Scots motorist fuming after receiving fines for driving through city tunnel at centre of controversial toll scheme

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A Stirling motorist has been left fuming after being hit with fines for driving through a tunnel at the centre of a controversial toll scheme.Helen Law, of Port Street, had been in Newcastle last May for work but later discovered that she had fallen foul of a new payment system at the Tyne Tunnel.Operator TT2 Limited removed toll gates and introduced ‘open road tolling’ in November 2021, as a means of reducing congestion and reducing travel times under the River Tyne.Number plate registration cameras capture vehicle details - giving drivers a limited time-window to pay their tolls.Ms Law was fined for going through the tunnel on May 9 and May 30.

She said she paid a fine, which had increased to £176.90 - only to discover there was another fine of £176.90 due for entering the tunnel.An online petition demanding changes to the way toll charges are applied and requesting a scrapping of the current fine system has amassed more than 21,000 signatures.Ms Law said: “I’m so disappointed this system was allowed to go-ahead in the first place, with little consideration given to incoming tourists or visitors who face hefty costs for a simple mistake.“The scheme desperately needs to be reformed, with much clearer signage, more advertising and some common sense over the administration of fines. £300 ais a lot of money, especially during a cost-of-living crisis.”Click here for more news and sport from the Stirling area.Stirling MP Alyn Smith has taken up the matter with the chief executive of TT2 Phil Smith.He said: “In a cost-of-living crisis, it is clearly outrageous for one of my constituents to be hounded for over £300 worth of fines from a scheme so unpopular, over 21,000 people have signed a petition for the system to be