Tougher penalties for drivers

DRIVERS responsible for the most serious speeding offences are set to face harsher penalties under new sentencing guidelines for magistrates.

Fines for motorists caught going well above the speed limit will start from 150% of their weekly income rather than the existing level of 100%. It means, for example, someone who is sentenced for driving at 101mph or faster in a 70mph zone will now be dealt with in a more severe bracket.

The Sentencing Council said the move aims to ensure there is a “clear increase in penalty as the seriousness of offending increases”.

It follows responses to a consultation arguing previous guidelines did not properly take into account the increase in potential harm that can result as speed above the limit rises.

Speeding is one of a number of areas covered in new sentencing guidelines for magistrates’ courts in England and Wales being published on Tuesday.

In another change conditional discharges will be included as a sentencing option in the least serious cases of TV licence payment evasion.

Under a conditional discharge the individual is not punished unless they commit another offence within a set period of time.

Tens of thousands of people are prosecuted each year for dodging the £145.50 licence fee, with the vast majority handed a fine.

The inclusion of this outcome in the new guidelines formally sets out the option for magistrates not to issue a financial penalty for cases judged to be in the lowest level of offending.

It is anticipated a conditional discharge could be appropriate in cases where the offender has been without a licence for a short period, or had made significant efforts to obtain one.