Speeding tickets surge after limit is quietly cut by 1mph

SPEEDING ticket numbers have surged by 259 per cent in London after the Metropolitan Police quietly cut its ‘tolerance’ threshold by 1mph.

The force changed the formula which meant motorists could exceed the speed limit by 10 per cent plus 3mph and expect to get away with it.

The tweak to 10 per cent plus 2mph means penalties in 20 zones come into effect at 24mph rather than the previous 25mph.

It meant that, between January and June this year, 347,000 drivers were told they faced prosecution for speeding, compared with 97,000 in the six months before the change was introduced, the Sunday Times reported. The Met changed the guidelines in May 2019, but did not announce it, saying: ‘Posted speed limits are the maximum speed that road users should travel at any time... irrespective of the speed threshold.’

Steve McNamara, of the Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association, said there has been ‘ an absolutely massive increase in taxi drivers receiving three, six, nine and 12 points – some of whom have been driving 35 years without a single point on their licence’.