POLICITIANS PUSH FOR ZERO TOLERANCE ON SPEEDING FINES.

In 2022, it is estimated that there were some 323 billion road miles covered by vehicles in Great Britain. The Office for National Statistics published data to suggest that an estimated 45% of car users exceeded the speed limit on 30mph roads alongside other worrying statistics for other vehicle and road types. In 2021, there were approximately 2.4 million speeding offences across England and Wales. Compliance is estimated to have increased slightly in 2022 but not enough to allay the fears of road safety groups.

In a bid to promote a much higher level of compliance, there have been calls to further reduce the tolerance for when speeding offences trigger penalties and prosecution.

Currently, in many areas of Great Britain, to set off a speed camera, drivers usually need to be doing approximately 10 per cent plus 2/3 mph. This was recently reduced in the region governed by Metropolitan Police, much to the concern of drivers who found themselves unexpectedly caught out. Some MP’s are now pushing for these tolerances to be dropped to a zero-tolerance basis.

The All Party Parliamentary Group for Cycling & Walking suggests that fines be enforced on a zero tolerance basis. The group “hold the view that speed limits and their enforcement represent the foundation of road justice because speeding accounts for the lion’s share of offences committed on the roads.”

The group of MPs highlighted the DfT Statistcs 2021 which suggested that half of the drivers in the UK speed in 30mph zones, so a removal of tolerances would increase the number of fines issues by police forces across the UK.  After the metropolitan police reduced tolerances from 10 per cent plus 3mph to 10 per cent plus 2mph, there was a 259 per cent increase in speeding fines.

However, it is important to remember that these are only suggestions and there is no obligations for these suggestions to be enforced.

Under current guidelines, Police have a discretion to offer a Speed Awareness Course to drivers who commit low level offences and are not considered repeat offenders. There can be a Fixed Penalty for other low level offenders, but more serious offences will end up being deal with by the Magistrates’ Court. The powers of the Court for drivers summoned to Court for prosecution are 3-6 points, or a disqualification. If a driver reaches 12 or more points, the Court is obliged to consider a ‘totting up’ points disqualification for a minimum of 6 months.

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Reference: Politicians Call For 1mph Over The Limit Speeding Fines | News | CarThrottle