Speeding clampdown
● Senior cops concerned current 10 per cent plus 2mph guide is a licence to break law
Police to review ‘buffer zones’ and tighten grip on offenders
SPEEDING drivers could soon be given less leeway by police after an official review of ‘buffer zones’ was announced.
Current guidelines advise police to allow a speeding buffer of 10 per cent plus 2mph, meaning 70mph limits are typically enforced by prosecution above 79mph, and motorists travelling below 35mph in 30mph zones are unlikely to be targeted by officers.
But senior police officers are considering whether “the implicit acceptance of excess speed within a threshold above the statutory speed limit” is “acceptable”. As a result, chief constables are to review official police guidelines on speed enforcement limits.
The review into buffer zones follows comments by Chief Constable Anthony Bangham, the National Police Chief Council’s lead on road policing, that drivers should have a “genuine fear of being caught” if they speed. In January, Bangham told a Police Federation conference: “I don’t want the public to be surprised, I want them to be embarrassed when they get caught. They need to understand the law is set at the limit for a reason.
“They should not come whingeing to us about getting caught. If [drivers are] booked at 35 or 34 or 33 [in a 30mph zone], that cannot be unfair because they are breaking the law.”
While the latest debates on buffer zones were “focused” by Bangham at an NPCC meeting, speed limit enforcement was recognised to be a “contentious issue”. Senior officers are said to hold “a variety of views” on the topic, with some concerned police may not have “the capacity and capability” to deal with the increase in cases reduced thresholds would bring.
An NPCC spokesman confirmed to Auto Express that “current speed enforcement guidelines for police set in 2011 are being reviewed”, but added that “there is no proposal for drivers to be prosecuted for driving 1mph over the limit – that would be neither proportionate nor achievable”.
“Guidelines advise police to allow a speeding buffer of 10 per cent plus 2mph. But senior officers are considering if this is acceptable”