Oxfordshire County Council: ‘deceased’ congestion fines
Deceased" drivers are among the thousands of people hit with Oxford congestion charge and low traffic neighbourhood fines, new data reveals.
“Deceased” drivers are among the thousands of people hit with congestion charges and low traffic neighbourhood fines, new data reveals.
There have been 13 penalty charge notices (PCNs) cancelled due to vehicle owners being dead, as the number of fines issued under the traffic schemes exceeds 250,000.
The figures obtained by a freedom of information request do not show the circumstances under which a vehicle or vehicles belonging to “deceased” people had been driven into Oxford’s LTNs or congestion charge zones, but give a variety of reasons why PCNs were voided.
It also reveals the number of fines issued for the duration of the congestion charge, which started on October 29 2025 (205,691), and LTNs, which began on May 17 2024 (51,209), up to April 30.
The dataset lists 64 causes for close to 14,000 fines being scrapped by Oxfordshire County Council.
Two PCNs were cancelled as the vehicle owner was in prison, and one as it was a diplomatic vehicle.
Ambulances had 36 fines revoked, the police had 16, two for the fire brigade, four due to the driver being a doctor on call, along with over 1,000 for taxis, and over 4,000 vehicles without a registered keeper.
Disabled drivers, people with medical reasons, untraceable and foreign vehicle owners received cancellations.
More than 5,000 PCNs were voided for a range of permit errors and for motorists who had paid for entry.
Since their introduction, there have been close to 257,000 fines handed out to motorists who did not pay Oxford’s £5 congestion charge fee or entered LTNs.
Over 205,000 of these were for congestion charge, meaning that in the last four and a half months, 175,000 fines have been given.
On January 7, the county council stated it had issued 31,588 fines since it began on October 29 2025.
This comes as estimates for the total surplus cash expected to be raised by the scheme rise sharply, by £2 million compared to initial forecasts.
The council is now set to rake in over £5 million from the charge over ten months.
The figures also show the locations where drivers have most commonly entered charge zones and been issued a PCN:
Thames Street – 81,493
Hythe Bridge Street – 48, 309
St Clements Street- 31,614
St Cross Road – 22,001
Hollow Way – 11,680
Marston Ferry Road – 10,594
Thames Street, which has the highest number of fines, has also seen the most PCN cancellations, with more than 5,000 – six per cent of the total fines.
The four highest-grossing roads for PCNs issued are also those with the longest hours of charge in action.
It is in place from 7am to 7pm Monday to Sunday, for drivers passing Thames Street, Hythe Bridge Street, St Clements Street and St Cross Road.
Hollow Way and Marston Ferry Road charge points run from 7 to 9am and 3 to 6pm, Monday to Saturday.
The county council approved introducing the charge last September, and it was introduced on October 29.
It is set to end in August when the Botley Road reopens, and traffic filters are introduced.
The cameras will remain in place, and the traffic filters will operate at the same locations and times.