80mph... and not a jot faster

DRIVERS could be hit with a fine if they stray just ONE mile-an-hour over the proposed new 80mph motorway speed limit.

Existing cameras allow drivers to exceed the limit by at around 10 per cent.

But road safety minister Mike Penning says that if the 80mph limit does come into force, speed cameras will operate under a ‘zero tolerance’ policy.

Tory Penning, 54, said: “You will have to realise there is a really, really strong possibility if you exceed the speed limit – if we move it to 80mph – you will be prosecuted.”

The new 80mph limit is expected to be tested on stretches of the M1, M6, M42 and M25.

But Paul Watters of the AA says that an ultra-strict enforcement of the limit could lead to motorists concentrating more on their speed than on their actual driving.