Nearly 50,000 speedsters handed fines in one year

Motorists are travelling at “ridiculous speeds” in Kent, with 10 people caught doing between 97mph and 141mph.

Police confirmed 49,898 fines were sent out last year, of which 1,122 were stopped by officers at the roadside and 48,776 were captured by cameras.

In 2016, all five of the county’s top speeders were stopped around the M20.

The fastest was caught travelling at 109mph, according to data obtained through a Freedom of Information request.

Speeding hotspots around the motorway include the exits for Ashford, Maidstone and Wrotham.

The fastest people caught by speed cameras were on the M25 clockwise around junction 5 for Clacket Lane services, where the top speed was 141mph.

Although the number of people caught speeding by cameras and officers has fallen by 5,590 from 2015’s figure of 55,488, the statistics show people are still driving at dangerous speeds.

The highest recorded by a speed camera between 2012 and 2016 was on the M25 clockwise near Swanley, in 2013, where the driver was travelling at 149mph.

In April, we reported how penalties have increased for those choosing to travel at above the national speed cap. Motorists can now be fined up to £2,500. Project and communications officer for the Kent and Medway Safety Camera Partnership, Colin Evans, said of the findings: “You’ll always get the high end violators who think the rules don’t apply to them.

“We spend a lot of time educating drivers. The risk is massive compared to whatever gratification they get at travelling at those ridiculous speeds.

“We’re able to offer the opportunity to divert the lower offenders into education. The higher end offenders only respond to punitive actions so we leave that to the courts. Speed cameras in Kent and across the country are a casualty reduction tool.

“We’d like to think that it’s more about the fine. The speed limit is just that, it’s a limit not a target. The limits are there for a reason and generally speaking the lower the limit you’re entering the more risks there are.

“It’s very easy to drive very fast. What’s very difficult is reacting to events that happen very quickly in front of you.”