Drivers who stop in bicycle boxes at traffic lights face fines of £60 and three penalty points on their licences as City Hall plans a crackdown.

The point of these boxes is to help protect cyclists by giving them a head-start when the lights change to green. But ask any cyclist and they'll tell you that they are routinely ignored.

Andrew Gilligan in asking Transport for London to enforce “advance stop lines” found at traffic lights with CCTV cameras in a similar way to bus lanes.

The plan to enforce bike lanes, with fines of £30 for drivers entering them and ASLs is at the top of a list of TfL’s “legislative wants” that would help make roads safer for cyclists.

Mr Gilligan said, “We think if we enforce mandatory cycle lanes and ASLs, there will be much more compliance. Compliance with bus lanes has gone up dramatically. People avoid them even when they don’t have to. We want to do exactly the same (with cycle lanes).”

Cycling campaigner Jenny Jones, a Green member of the London Assembly, said: “Rather than posting a police officer at every traffic light, it would seem sensible to treat ASLs in the same way as we treat yellow boxes or bus lanes, so that we can use cameras to enforce this safety measure.”

Cycle Legal lawyer Kevin O’Sulivan, who represents cyclists injured in road collisions, said: “If this fining of motorists for breaching ASLs and cycle lanes goes ahead, it will mean that motorists are thinking about the presence of cyclists generally, which will be another step forward for cycle safety.”