The more you earn, the more money you’ll hand over if you get caught speeding
Speeding drivers will soon face much higher fines and stricter penalties. On April 24 2017, new guidelines set by the Sentencing Council will come into effect in the UK. Those caught driving at more than 101mph in a 70mph speed limit could be disqualified for up to 56 days and get a fine of between 125 and 175 per cent of their relevant weekly income.
Although the motorway fines have taken the headlines, drivers are most likely to be affected by the new fines and penalties on slower roads. If you are caught at between 31 and 40mph in a 30mph zone you will get three penalty points and a fine of between 25 and 75 per cent of your weekly income. Currently many drivers get away without points and a fine by paying for a speed awareness course.
How big are the changes for speeding drivers?
Having fines means tested is the biggest change here. Until now, the average fine for speeding in the UK is around £200. From April, a driver who earns the average UK weekly wage of £507 who is caught doing 102mph on a motorway could be fined £760. However, high earners shouldn’t panic just yet: fines are capped at £1000, or £2500 if the offence is committed on a motorway. So if a top-level footballer earning £300,000 a week is caught driving at 102mph on a motorway, they could get away with £2500 – relatively short change for them. The six points or the possible 56-day disqualification are likely to present the bigger inconvenience.
Why is the speeding law being changed?
Speeding offences have increased by 44 per cent over the last five years in some parts of the country. The new sentencing structure has been designed to produce a sufficient deterrent to reduce the number of speeding drivers.
Will other laws change?
As well as the speeding fines, drivers are set to face much tougher penalties for using a mobile phone behind the wheel from March 2017. The previous penalty of three points and a £100 fine has been doubled to six points and £200.
Five (very) Fast Facts
- The fastest speeding ticket known to have been issued was in Texas in May 2003. The driver of a Swedish Koenigsegg supercar was caught doing 242mph in a 75mph zone. After police finally caught up with him he was arrested and the car impounded.
- In the UK the highest speed ever ticketed was 192mph. The way the driver was caught is more unique. He posted videos of his exploits on YouTube and this provided enough evidence for his prosecution.
- The Swiss use a similar earnings-based fine system to the one the UK will soon have. When a Swiss billionaire was caught at 186mph in his Mercedes SLS in 2010 he landed the biggest speeding fine ever issued: a cool £558,000.
- The most prolific speed camera in the UK is on the Ealing section of London’s North Circular Road. From being switched on in April 2016 to the end of October almost 15,000 fines were issued as it enforced a temporary 30mph limit. Assuming three penalty points and a £100 fine per speeding driver, that’s £1.5 million in just six months.
- In 1878 the speed limit for a steam-driven car was 2mph in towns and 4mph in the country. Anyone caught exceeding that speed was fined and given 10 lashes. It was the driver, not the vehicle’s owner, who received the physical punishment.
Koenigseggs are famous for their eye-watering performance
It’s not about reducing speeding,it’s more money grabbing by authorities. Most speeders are doing 35-40 mph often on a road that could sustain that speed.
Its about the fine hurting people in the same way. A £100 fine to someone on minimum wage hurts. A £100 fine to a millionaire is throw away money.
But it isn’t hurting people in the same way. It’s capped at 1000 which doesn’t hurt the mega rich much at all. If it’s means tested it should be across the board.
What a typical statement these days Brian. I don’t argue that I can help myself to a load of items from the stationary cupboard at work because the cupboard will sustain “losing”a few items! The law is the law and not for you to interpret when you will adhere to it or not and is based on pedestrian and other driver safety. Why do so many drivers think they know better?? Arrogant selfish attitude! I think that fines should be eye-wateringly high to bring people to their senses and hopefully then save a few lives.
You obviously don’t drive because any driver who says they have never gone over the speed limit is a liar. This includes the hypocritical police and the bloke driving the camera van along with the magistrates who sit in judgement over everyone else.
Perhaps, but could a child chasing a ball or lost dog sustain any collision over 25mph ?
spot on Brain that’s all it is just more ways of getting more cash from the public
I agree its not speeding causing the problems it drivers not paying attention to the road and conditions. The new fines are just a money making project on the easiest target available. How about the driver that does not bother to indicate or pulls out in front of you. never see them being punished or even reprimanded
Agreed the fine money anyway should be used to repair the roads and 31 mph fine in a 30 limit what’s that all about. Also a bit crafty putting a new speed up of 30 mph just to catch drivers. Shame on the new law. Catching people most likely trying to get to and from work. Being late is not the option we all need our jobs.
There is no excuse for speeding speed kills and drivers should be punished who are caught.The infrastructure is not in place on many of our roads .There are far too many cars on too little road space.There have been some horrific accidents through our village caused by speeding and people have been killed.There is a 30mph limit on the road and 2 silly light up beacons which no one takes any notice of.Penalties should be severe and licences taken away plus a jail sentence.
Drivers “are” punished when caught. Not just financially or in points awarded to their licenses. Following all this the insurance companies are allowed to extort huge amounts of cash for 5 years when the points expire after 3 years. So the next time you get snared for going over the speed limit in your car. Remember that you probably didn’t do it deliberately as most of us don’t, most criminals who are deliberately breaking the law get less than a five year sentence for their trouble.
There’s a simple way around this. Whether you’re a top earner or low income motorist….. Obey the law!!
Yes obey the law however can you guarantee your speedometer is correct?, 1 mph tolerance will not allow for this and when you think your doing the speed limit you get a ticket through the post, i now drive at 10 mph less than the speed limit even on 20 mph roads i only go 10 mph to make sure i don’t go over, also how many more accidents will be caused by drivers concentrating to stay under the speed limit and not concentrating on there surroundings.
It’s an absolute joke, yes bigger fines however we need to keep the speed limit and 10% + 2 mph which would allow for speedometers.
The fines are not large enough
I find it VERY annoying that speed limits are so arbitrary. Having 30 mph in most built up areas is sensible and I try to keep to that. However where the road leaves the housing the speed limit is often still 30 and that is just silly. It is always where the speed trap is set – why? If safety was the real issue the camera would be where the danger in speeding lay. Why are some built up areas at 40 mph? Why are some rural roads at the national speed limit while others are 50 mph or below? I do not think this is good enough. Let’s have some common sense and standardization please.
How true, Jane. Speeding does not kill, it’s speeding in the wrong place and the current zoning of different speed limits does not reflect this.
I drive mainly at night for my job , and although i think it is important to stick to speed limits in built up areas , i think discretion should be used on often empty roads !
These new fines are all very well, but I understand that there are a significant number of drivers around with more than the requisit number of disqualification points who are still driving because they pleaded that being disqualified would cause employment difficulties. Is this situation to be tackled, or will they still get away with it whilst normal beings are persecuted and banned or heavily fined?
What happens to the many that drive like idiots mainly within 20mph zones who have no income other than income support etc, as per usual due to the lack of local policing within communities they get away with it.
I totally agree with your comment
A year or so ago, our residential road had new road signs of 20mph fitted removing the 30mph which had been there for years – not once policed in all the 40 years I’ve lived here. It’s a straight hill whilst bordered by houses, but at both bottom and top are sharp blind bends.
Speeding drivers whether going up or down must be traveling at 80+mph. Complaints to police and authorities ad nauseum and the most we’ve achieved for our troubles was one of those smiley face gismos in situ for a couple of weeks that let you know you’re going too fast. Needless to say, this had not made the slightest impression on speeding drivers.
Nearby we have a very short cobbled street, where anything above 11mph rattles and shakes up the car horribly, and not once, nor is it possible to speed along this short street. This also had to have a 20mph sign erected.
I agree with most of the comments so far posted.
Yes, Denise, your point is very valid and not taken into account in the new laws.
I agree Denise These new speeding laws are not severe enough and there is nobody to enforce them anyway
“In 1878 the speed limit for a steam-driven car was 2mph in towns and 4mph in the country. Anyone caught exceeding that speed was fined and given 10 lashes. It was the driver, not the vehicle’s owner, who received the physical punishment.”
I’d warrent 10 lashes would be a far more effective deterent then £200 for using or texting on a mobile phone.
Norman conquest just issued the 10 lashes!
Very true
I totally agree and its about time, but I don’t hear any mention of foreign motorists.
More highway robbery by HM gov
Does the mobile ban also include hands free?
There is no place for any phones on today’s busy roads, the new fines and points will not stop so many who are addicted to their phones. The 10 lashes won’t happen but crush the cars, just might. A £200 fine is peanuts to so many today. Yes I have had a phone for 20 years, its switched on in the car but I never ever use it or answer it.
Depends if your driving is affected by the way you use your hands free.
the unit
phone its self must not be touched when the engine is running, stationary or moving
What happens if you are retired how do they measure your income then ?
On your retirement income I suspect Ian and that will probably take into account any type of pension scheme and investments that give a current monthly credit.
weekly pension
How much you have in savings
So they should get a bigger fine, these people with fast cars think they should be exempt from fines and points on their licence. Hope this slows them down. (But I doubt it).
I just wish all drivers would obey the speeding and parking laws because it is just a money making racket for councils to go on their annual jollies. I would love to see the councils having to stop these unwarranted enforcement laws because it was costing them money. Come on all drivers obey the laws and lets us see councils crying in their Prawn Sandwiches.
Problem is they would then find another way of making money
IT’S BEEN TO LONG COMING FOR THE MOBILE PHONE PENALTIES,BUT I’M GLAD TO KNOW IT’S IN PLACE AT LAST.REGARDS THE NEW SPEEDING PENALTIES,I HOPE THEY CAN HAVE THE RIGHT EFFECT FOR ALL OF OUR SAKES.
£ 200 fine for mobile phone use whilst driving is no deterrent and I doubt if even £2000 would stop it. A choice between a £20,000 fine or a two year driving ban would put an end to this widespread practice and bring some consolation to those families who’ve lost a loved one in such circumstance.
Does the motorist pay for every thing in this country,! It seems like it.what next fines for parking on your drive for to long.
Bring in 10 lashes for using a mobile phone while driving.
Just another way of extracting more money from the motorist. After all it is not so much that speed kills it’s speeding in the wrong place.
Drivers using mobile phones should be treated like drink drivers. Face a heavier fine and banned for 12-24 months
Also the mobile phone should be confiscated and crushed, losing the phone and all the information on it.
Changes in the laws have little effect these days because there are less police patrols, particularly in residential areas. The word I get from the police is that they are overstretched and don’t have the manpower to deliver effective law enforcement. Therefore, many drivers are getting away with speeding and will continue to do so until there is an increase in police proactivity.
Thanks for the info re new rules on speeding coming in on 24th April. Up until reading your article I was unaware.
So are speeding awareness courses now being discontinued.
Thirty one miles over 30 this has got to be a joke. Just another money making scheme to hit dtivers.
About time.
I guess it’s easier to catch someone accidently going 1-2mph over the limit than it is to get the police going out and actually catching real criminals.
Of course, those who go crazy on the road should be punished, but it’s getting to the point I hate the idea of driving for work or pleasure because, let’s face it, everyone goes over the limit accidentally from time to time – even if they are driving safely.
the DVLA refutes the statement you have made on fines
You just get faster to the next rounder about and traffic lights
Are Speedos still allowed a 10 % tolerance. If so a Speedos reading of 30 mph car could be doing 33mph . Does that mean we have to drive on a Speedos reading 27 mph to be certain . If the reading is 27 when Speedos is reading fast we would only doing about 25 mph .
Speedos are allowed a +10% tolerance. Not -10%.
If it says “30”, you can be sure you are not doing more than 30. But the BMW driver overtaking you may have a more accurate speedo.
If you can run at 33mph in your Speedos whilst reading I’d be very impressed! 😉
speed kills. on Sunday at Tescos a young lad ran straight across the front of my car but because I was pulling away slowly I did not hit him.
hmm – maybe the lad needs to learn how to behave?
I think you’ll find most supermarket car parks have an advisory speed limit of 5-10mph……..
Whatever happened to the common-sense 10% margin of tolerance for road safety reasons (ie, so that we can keep our eye on the road ahead rather than glued to the speedometer, just in case) for those caught momentarily exceeding a sign-posted speed limit, if these new fines really do kick in at 31mph in town and not 33mph? If the now widespread use of automated speed-governors in cars and lorries means that we will all tend to set our driving speed at a precautionary 10% below the sign-posted speed-limit, so that we can’t be clocked at 1 mph above that limit and fined for it, won’t there be more incidents of road-rage behaviour from drivers made impatient by a vehicle in front of them travelling well below the sign-posted limit? And what about the new 20mph limit being introduced in some town centres?
@DawesGreyham
Fines for using a mobile [phone whilst driving should be the same as for the new speeding fines.
Colin Tyzack says “speed kills”. Motorways are the fastest and safest roads in the country. Its not speed itself that kills but inappropriate speeds in the wrong places, there are roads in the city in which I live where cars are parked on either side and children play, I would not drive at the speed limit on these. However, when on a longer journey on a road on which I consider it safe I have been known to, perhaps, go a little faster. If there were less regulation and enforcement in areas where accidents are infrequent relative to volume of traffic, drivers would have more respect for existing limits and not regard gettimg caught as just a matter of luck.
The new law would indicate that the people with the highest income are the worst offenders, is this not discriminatory ? how can you means test a traffic offence ? The fine or punishment should be the same for everyone, just another nonsense.
No! It tries to make punishment more equitable.
Disagree Mr Wiggins. If you’re on a low income/minimum wage a £200 fine could have a heavy impact on your way of life while you’re paying it off; a Premier League footballer on £676,000 pa wouldn’t notice a £200 fine now would he? Bill Gates [say] wouldn’t bat an eyelid either.
It just a money making exercises. .car owners are cash cow…the roads are poorly maintained.we should have the best roads in the world for the amount of tax and indirect tax….what do they do with the money.
I cover the whole UK and my issue is what speed I should be doing when one section of road is 40 but it drops to 30 then it’s back up to national speed limit and there’s a speed camera!! I think ALL speed cameras should show the speed they are set for, not so drivers can then speed off pass them (as you can still be caught by a mobile unit!!) but so it clarifies the speed we should be at, especially new camera set in the new city 20mph zones. There’s no point in the radio announcer saying a certain area of the city is now at the lower 20 when you don’t know where that part of the city is?
Great
I understand that there needs to be a punishment for speeding drivers,
However how about doing the same to drink drivers and smackheads that get behind the wheel.
Give them a larger fine, imprisonment and confiscate there cars and give the proceeds to to cover the cost of imprisonment or to a deserving charity.
Tell the lorry drivers on the motorway that reduced speed limits apply to them as well !
If I reduce speed in the managed motorways when the speed limit on the gantry sign indicates reduced speed limit , then I get a lorry right close behind me to move me out of the way or to go faster because they want to , these type of drivers should be banned and fined twice as much !
I agree with most of it but 31 in a 30 mph come on. As someone said we will be concentrating so much on our speedometer that more accidents will happen.
As a lorry driver I can tell you that car clocks are 10% out. Trucks are more accurate. So you think you are doing 50mph, but you’re doing 45. Drivers, by law, have to take breaks after 4½ hrs driving, so someone sat in the middle lane doing (actual) 45 mph and possibly causing the driver to go over his/her legal limit are a tad annoying. I work from a relaxed company, so not my prob, but some are really under the whip.
Buck.
Unfortunately, relying on a speedometer may get you into trouble for speeding, especially at this 1mph difference. My car speedometer is consistently 2mph faster through the whole range than my sat nav indicates which is of course the right way round but which one is correct?
The whole speed limit situation is outdated, the 70mph limit was set in 1965 when cars were not as safe and not built to travel at such speeds, braking systems were limited etc etc, today cars are built better and safer with far superior braking systems and shorter stopping distances. On motorways and dual carriage ways the real danger comes from lane hoggers and not cars travelling at speed, the police promised to start taking action against lane hoggers and have you seen someone pulled for this? The outer lanes on a motorway are for overtaking only not because you are travelling at the speed limit, drivers are the issue not the speed in my opinion. My average family car is capable of 147mph…………
Road awareness is the key and only driving to your capability not put your foot to the metal and hope for the best!! Example in hand is at 3 am on the M1 with no or very little traffic why can a sensible driver not travel at 100mph? Only my feeling.
“Speed limit”. Definition of the word “limit” – a line beyond which something is no longer allowable”. As previously stated in the law with a speed limit of 30 mph, a fine is incurred when travelling above 31 MpH as you would expect. On the motorway there is ” speed limit ” of 70 MpH. Yet although the word limit means not allowable, fines start at 101 MpH, 31 miles above the speed limit. Presumably by law we can ignore 30 MpH for same reason .If exceeding the 70 MpH is not legally binding then presumably exceeding the 30 MpH Is not legally binding. How can the law interpret the same binding condition differently. Both need to be applied the same, I happy either way – adhere to the speed limits or ignore them.
all speed limit’s should have no more than a 5mph allowance, and motorway should be no more than 10mph.
All car’s and van’s should be limited the same as buses/coaches and lorrys are, shorley that would help to reduce accident’s, and insurance premiums.
Limiting a vehicle’s speed is not the answer, as sometimes it is advantageous to accelerate out of danger and get away from it, rather than brake and become a part of it. Forunately I have reached the age where it is too much effort to exceed the speed limits, so I tend to drive withing them, but I appreciate that now and again they are rather illogical.
It appears to me that you can commit any road traffic offence these days with impunity as long as it is not speeding. Over taking on the near side, cutting in when a safe distance is left between you and the vehicle in front, particularly on motorways, hogging the centre lane at 50mph when there is ample opportunity to move in to the nearside lane and driving in perfect visibility with rear fog lights, all are an everyday occurrence on roads without fear of interference from police. Why not issue authority to the Traffic Officers who patrol motorways to pounce to these offenders?
Personally I truly believe speeding fines are more about generating income. Recently I was travelling from J21 of the M25 towards Dartford between 1:30 am and 2:30am. I came across signs saying “Incident 50mph”, this continued for the next 3 gantries and then reverted to 70. There was no incident. I then came to more signs saying “50MPH queue after junction”, needless to say there was no queue at that time of the morning though there may well have been following the rush area. I next encountered more signs saying “Incident 50MPH” but just slowed to 60 and got flashed at 61MPH and done for speeding. Again whatever incident there may have been had been cleared, probably long before. Therefore I fully believe these speeding limits are just to generate income. Motorists are a soft touch. I agree with the comment about the state of the roads, especially if you have low profile tyres. Pot holes have caused me many punctures and several alloy wheels. Yes I agree there are idiots out there that need to be taken off the roads.
Steve asks why a sensible driver should not drive on the M1 at 100mph at 3am.
Well, for starters, in the event of an unexpected tyre blowout, there would be little chance of survival. Our valiant and overworked emergency services would have the unenviable task of shovelling up that sensible driver’s brains or searching the motorway for body parts before hosing down the surface and going home for breakfast. Don’t take my word for it – just compare our fatality statistics with those of Germany, where two-thirds of motorway distances are not subject to any speed limit.
Popular German car brands – and many of us in the UK prefer to drive them – are also capable of high speeds and are packed with safety devices but, for all that, the technology is not infallible, as the manufacturers clearly state in the vehicle’s handbook.
The honest motorist that has paid insurence, tax, MOT is an easy target, always has been, your everyday benefit claiment that hasn’t bothered to buy insurence, tax, or to MOT the car will only pay somthing out of the money he/she already gets FREE, so what have they got to lose? you know speed cameras are a con money making scam, when first launched they were supposed to only be used in accident black spot areas, so people bought scanners to alert you you are in a high accident area but the police fined Them for trying to stay safe. Scam after scam after scam!!!!!
PS. On the dangers of lane hoggers Steve is absolutely spot on.
I couldn’t agree more! I have never seen this irresponsible practice anywhere else in the world.
Surely there needs to be a 3miles an hour tolerance on speeding fines impossible
31mph!!! how can anyone guarantee staying at 30mph exactly without concentrating on the speedometer to the extent that it becomes a safety issue, if you drop below 30mph tailgating occurs and impatient drivers overtake in dangerous circumstances – this screams ‘let’s make motorist our cash cow’ by DVLA.
Its about time that smoking while driving should be made an offence! The number of drivers that I’ve seen that are more interesting in getting a cigarette out of the packet, lighting it and taking the first deep drag, blowing out the smoke and obscuring their view and the fact that they are distracted from the traffic around them.. That to me is driving without due care and attention. You cant eat and drink while driving or use a phone so why should you be able to smoke.
Well if ever there was an admission of the real reason for all the speed cameras, here it is. It was only ever an easy source of revenue and the last thing they want is for you to stop.
Speed does not necessarily cause accidents. If you are driving fast your concentration levels are higher, it’s idiots driving well below the legal limit who overtake or change lanes without signaling who cause accidents.
The issue with speed limits is that they are over-used and the local reason for them is not explained in signage. The placement of some speed cameras (and their lack of impact on accident rates) bolstered the impression that they were about revenue. Police reports over time have consistently said that excessive speed is a prime cause in only 15-20% of accidents – driver inattention, fatigue or confusion are much higher up the list.
Speed cameras are reducing accidents that’s how they justifie so many on our roads now were being told theres a 44% increase in fines being handed out for speeding ,Not working is it, as ABBA said money,money,money..
I think the article is somewhat misleading. Yes there are changes to the law, but if you look at the current rules the fines are already set as a proportion of your income. Also the current and revised law are exactly the same in that it is illegal to drive even 1 mph above the speed limit, so again no change (Just follow the link in the main article and look at the speed council sentencing rules). The 1% tolerence the police use will presumably therefore not change as it is a police practice/guideline (or whatever you wish to call it) as it isn’t law.
If we all bumbled along at 25, I wonder how long it would be before compulsory speeding zones became mandatory – where anyone doing LESS than the required speed would be liable to a fine!
Why not get rid of the speed limit on the motorways. problem solved. As I understand it was Margaret Thatchers government that put a speed limit on to try to save petrol which was in short supply at the time.
My Gran once said to me ” Everything is to do with money” I never really understood this until I was much older .
Its not about being fair, right or wrong, its only about money, Unfortunately everything has a price. I’ve read all the comments above and I agree with most of them.
Why should a fine be more for one person and less for another. Has one person been more dangerous than the other ?
What if hypothetically one person speeds 5 mph over the limit and is wealthy and the fine costs 1 million pounds. Now, what if a spouse with no income speeds 40 mph over the limit, how much will that fine be ? and who will have to pay it ?
So I ask, is the wealthy person being punished more or the same ?
I know this is all hypothetical because the wealthy man will more than lightly get off with the use of an expensive barrister. However this highlights the scenario.
The average man is currently struggling to pay his normal bills. Mortgage, food etc.
There is more debt now and families go hungry every day.
Most people do not intend to speed. This new law in my opinion is going to cause severe hardship to the lowest paid people, Can your family afford to loose a weeks wage. I don’t think so .
Yes there are some of you thinking. Well don’t speed, end of.
I say this to you. Have you ever been down a road that has not got speed sign ?
Or your speed slowly creeps up while you are driving.
This has happened to us all I’m sure.
In the end common sense should be used.
People driving dangerously should be punished.
These are my thoughts . Martin .
I see that speeding prosecutions have increased by 44% in the last five years… What have the accident statistics done in the same period I wonder?
Wouldn’t it be easy to have by law a device installed in your car that regulates the car’s speed at a given point so that it would be impossible for the driver to exceed its limits? Of course not, how else can those in power line their pockets?
I think the proportional fining is going to be sold as a fair punishment to deter the rich as well as the poor.
I spend all my working life on motorways, it’s not speed that kills, it’s people not looking beyond the end of their bonnet then massively over reacting.
“It’s not how fast you ride, it’s how you ride fast.”
People think speeding fines are another form of taxation. Well, maybe they’re right, maybe they’re wrong. But, if they’re right, it’s a very easy tax to avoid legitimately. No returns to file, no forms to complete and submit, no accountants to pay, no tax lawyers to consult. Just maintain good observation for speed limit changes then stick to them. If I sounded self-righteous, let me add that it was not that long ago I was nicked.
The fine starting at 31mph is ridiculous. Better to set the limit at 25mph with a 20% allowance. Engines are not made to cope with such low speed for most of their lives and will be inefficient with added levels of pollution. At 30mph, a downward slope will easily lead to the driver constantly braking as the car tries to run away. The whole thing needs to be re-thought. Nevertheless, I can’t remember more than a couple of times per month that I saw another motorist staying within the 20mph, 30mph or 40mph limits.
Well, the law states that your car’s speedo only has to be accurate to within 10% so this is why there is a little leeway on all cameras – there has to be. Of course unless you are sure your speedo is spot on this should not make a lot of difference to your speed…. but it does explain why you can indeed overtake a Police car at 80 with some hope of impunity. As has been said speed cams are a blunt instrument – and like all such they do as much harm as good – many have been decommissioned in the south west.
What annoys me is that you can potentially be fined by a speed camera for marginally breaking the speed limit but if you were to pass a traffic cop on the motorway say doing 80 you would more than likely get away with it. They could use their judgment. There is no common sense with speed cameras.
I don’t think fines really solve the issue of speeding and bad driving. Why not have a scheme where if someone is caught 2 or 3 times doing something stupid or dangerous on the road they have to resit their driving test. And each time they resit it, it gets harder and harder. That way we might be able to weed out the bad drivers and get them off the road.
You are as all the other media does you use the word speeding and speeders .[WRONG] they are exceeding enforced limits
I have seen a number of people still driving whilst on their phones and they won’t get caught because there is hardly any police vehicles on the road! Speeding fines are a laugh! In Bradford it’s a daily occurrence to have boy racers (and I’ve seen girls) driving at 50 when it should be 30. Once again no police vehicles around to catch them.
£200 is still to small for using your phone while driving. Should be 6 month ban and £1000 fine
Always about money!! Impose a ban in respect to the speeding and some points maybe , prison that would work. To actually have the audacity to be able to find out what you earn and fine you based on that how’s that fair. Someone on jsa is probably going to pay less than a working man or even les than the current fine So not aimed at working man then , and yes I know simple don’t speed imagine if we were not human and made no speeding mistakes but then the fine would have to go on something else like a years income for parking on a double yellow line. All about money always will be. And no I have not been caught speeding and. Bitter just sick of the justice system making up a way to exstract our hard earrings and making it law. Motorists are a easy target.
To be honest we all bitch and moan we are no ones to the people that come up with thease scams the law say you will pay, then you will pay. Imagine if we could find away to stop the money going into there hands then sticking together about it. But then if we found a way to bully people into giving us money then we would be criminals and probably be charged with deception. Now there’s a word!
Its all about the Govment don’t tell you where all this money goes do they
They make money on toll charge, Mot, Tax on fuel, charge to drive in London and that before your weekly tax if you work
Would be much better if they just band people for speeding no fine it dont even have to go to court
21 years ago was my last speeding fine, I vowed to myself this would never happen again and it never has. I drive the length and breadth of the UK with my job sometimes driving a speed restrited HGV (56MPH). Take my word for it it is not the speeding BMW driver causing problems on our roads it’s the idiots who think it’s okay hogging the middle lane at speeds less than an HGV. In all my years(35) of driving most accidents I have seen on motorways involve slow drivers not the speeding BMW.
Perhaps the government should impose a minimum speed on moterways.
Good to see that those who have worked hard to get ahead are yet again being punished for being a high earner. This country loves to shaft those who are hard working. As a high rate tax payer, I feel that I am already contributing more than my fair share. I do not want to have to pay more than the next person just because I work 65+ hours a week.
You mention in the article that you coud be caught for doing between 31 and 40mph in a 30 zone, but to drive at 31 and be caught doesn’t make practical sense. How can anyone argue about a 1 mph or 2mph difference???
I am a truck driver also and if car drivers actually understud hgv driving laws maybe you would drive at 50mph In an average speed section and not 42mph. The tachograph timer in our trucks ticks away your driving time wether your doing 12mph or 168mph!!! Have some respect and do the speed limit so we can get out jobs done on time. Also please DONT do 40mph in the slow lane when national speed limit applies. All your doing is forcing me out into the middle lane. I’m doing 56mph wether you like it or not I’ve got jobs to complete. PLEASEEEEEE ALL CAR DRIVERS DRIVE FASTER THAN 56MPH ON A UK MOTORWAY WHERE NATIONAL SPEED LIMIT APPLIES!!! Thank you
Mate it’s an absurdity, I completely sympathise with you but unfortunately the guys with experience aren’t the ones making up the rules. I say we write a petition to change this idiotic law, I mean seriously the other day I passed a speed camera on a down hill slope…(what an absolute joke, like was I born yesterday?), I’m on cruse control at 2 mile under the speed limit but obv on a down hill its going to speed up, got up to 2 miles over, and then levelled back, these guys are just opportunist and I tell you what, I’d rather quit my job than pay a fine that was unintentional and a non-issue.
What happens if you are ay a housewife/husband who doesn’t generate a physical income?
I think that without any leeway on speed limits, drivers will spend so much time looking at the speedometer, it could be a distraction! there does need to me a small margin for error. Driving is all about being sensible, the law should be to.
Speeding gets the blame for everything. The trouble is i see people who aren’t speeding often driving like idiots which i think is more dangerous.
Peoples inability to reed the road ahead is also dangerous and can also cause many accidents.
Never see much done about that though! 🙁
I think we all should sign a petition and tell the police and authorities to do one , if your caught with a phone then yes big fine
if you don’t like the new law on speeding then don’t do it