MOTORISTS caught in special "Commonwealth Games lanes" will be fined £50.

The lanes, which will operate from next month, are reserved for Glasgow 2014 athletes and officials.

Police Scotland will impose £50 fines on any driver who uses lanes in Glasgow designated for the use of Games athletes, officials and sponsors.

Cars parked on the routes will be towed away and only released upon payment of a £150 fee.

For a month from July 8, congestion is expected to be particularly heavy at the Stobcross off-ramp of the M8 and the Finnieston Street off-ramp of the Clydeside Expressway.

The busy link through the city will be closed to all but Games traffic.

Glasgow 2014 bosses said the lanes are required to ensure it can meet targets that 90% of competitors' journeys last no longer than 20 minutes.

The majority of the competitors' journeys will be from the Athletes' Village, in Dalmarnock, to the

various venues, including Hampden Park, the Emirates Arena, Ibrox Stadium and the Hydro.

Games chiefs believe 50% of athletes' journey times will be under 10 minutes.

However, the Institute of Advanced Motorists slammed the measures as "draconian."

Neil Greig, director of policy and research at the institute, said: "The Games lanes measures are draconian.

"But perhaps you need that if your aim is to scare people from using their car."

The lanes will be phased in across the city from July 8 and become fully operational on July 21.

A Glasgow 2014 spokesman said the lanes are only in a limited number of places.

Similar lanes caused controversy at the London Olympics in 2012, when Games lanes fines generated £310,000 in fees and fines during the sporting event.

Currently, motorists in Glasgow illegally entering a bus lane face a fine of £60, although this is reduced to £30 if paid within two weeks.

The Evening Times previously told how a major review of the city's bus lanes was launched by

Glasgow City Council.

The launch of the seven-month review followed a storm of complaints from motorists who felt they had been unfairly hit with penalties.

Just one month after the start of a review, the council decided to suspend the bus lane camera in Great Western Road at Shelley Road near the Beatson.

Visitors to the cancer unit have since asked for their bus lane fines to be refunded.

rebecca.gray@eveningtimes.co.uk