Drivers in dark over £2,500 speeding fines
NEW powers to crack down on speeding drivers come into force next week – but millions of motorists are unaware of spiralling penalties.
Under the rules drivers caught for the most serious cases of speeding could be fined one and a half times their weekly takehome pay.
A motorist earning £50,000 a year would pay up to £1,000 for travelling 41mph in a 20mph limit.
There will be a cap of £2,500 for speeding on a motorway, and £1,000 on other roads.
In a survey by consumer website Honest John, up to 84 per cent of respondents said they were unaware of penalty changes which come into force on Monday.
Under new rules laid out by the Sentencing Council, magistrates have the power to fine motorists by up to 150 per cent of their weekly takehome income. The current limit is 100 per cent.
The new rules also allow minor offences to lead to fines of up to 50 per cent of an offender’s weekly income.
Daniel Powell, of Honest John, said: ‘While most people agree that excessive speed has no place on our roads and that greater deterrents are likely to reduce the amount of deaths and injuries related to speeding, the new fines policy appears to have entered the law almost unnoticed.’
Although the new rules raise the bar for speeding fines there are no plans to remove the option of speed awareness courses for first-time minor
‘Almost unnoticed’
offenders. At present, those caught speeding by a small amount are frequently offered a half-day awareness course in lieu of points on their licence, with the courses costing the same as the equivalent fixed penalty. Mr Powell said: ‘The new fines are clearly a deterrent, but the bigger issue here is that prevention is better than cure.
‘One very real concern is that, while speeding is easier to police, there are greater road safety concerns attached to driver distraction than creeping slightly over the speed limit.
‘We should be addressing concerns around mobile phone use, in- car apps and sat nav distractions in much the same way.
‘Harsher fines are a deterrent, but we can’t help but think a better, more modern approach to driver education would have a greater influence on road safety.’
In 2015, 166,695 people in England and Wales were sen- tenced for speeding offences and 166,216 were fined. The average fine was £188, but two people were sent to prison.
Motoring organisation the AA has expressed disappointment after a bill containing plans to change the way whiplash injures are compensated was dropped by ministers due to the General Election.
Michael Lloyd, of the AA, said: ‘Drivers have seen their car insurance premiums rocketing and most will react with despair that the whiplash gravy train once again has the green light to carry on.
‘There was some hope that if claims could be stemmed it would help to bring premiums down. There seems little prospect of that now.’ It is unclear if the bill will be reintroduced.