From the 24th April, new curbs to tackle excessively high speeding motorists will be launched with new fines capable of charging an offender up to 175% of their weekly wages combined with an automatic driving ban and potentially time in jail.

The new range of fines are a stunning indication of how serious the police and government are at tackling and deterring the impact of speeding on the lives of other motorists on the roads.

According to Think!, in 2015 over 160,000 people were found guilty of speeding, and in 2013 3,063 fatalities caused by excessive speeding states the Metro. The Sentencing Council’s felt that the current charges are not proportionate to the “potential harm of speeding”.

 

Band MPH over stated speed limit  Fine (Percentage of relevant weekly wage)  Number of points on a licence, or length of disqualification

Band A

 (For going up to 10 mph more than the speed  limit)

1- 10mph 25%- 75% 3 points

Band B

 (For going up to 11 – 21 mph more than the  speed limit)

11 – 20mph 75% – 125%

4 – 6 points

OR

7 – 28 days disqualification

Band C

(For going 21 mph more than the speed limit)

Over 21mph 125 – 175%

6 points

OR

7 – 56 days disqualification

Table illustrating the new changes to speed limit fines

 

Caps for speeding fines will be the same – up to £2500 on the motorway, and up to £1000 elsewhere – but the new law will increase the number of speeders being dealt with the top fines.

Whilst the current minimum fine of £100 and 3 points will remain the same, the new law allows courts to fine motorists who are caught driving well above the speed limit 150% of their weekly income, instead of the current cap of 100%.

The court can then adjust the percentage by a further 25% addition or subtraction based on factors such as weather conditions, previous convictions and the number of people in the area.

Average earner fined £1000

According to the Office of National Statistics, the average salary in April 2015 was £27,600, this would mean that the maximum fine an average earner could face would be £928.85, or 175% of a weekly salary.

The current rules regarding disqualification and points on your licence are remaining the same, so you would still also potentially be disqualified for 56 days, or face 6 points on your licence.

Peter Williams, from the RAC said: “Anyone who breaks the limit excessively is a danger to every other road user and is unnecessarily putting lives at risk.

Hopefully, hitting these offenders harder in the pocket will make them think twice before doing it again in the future.”

For those who use SatNavs, we strongly recommend that you keep them regularly updated to know what the speed limit is for that road. If you have a car with a speed limiter or warning indicator, we strongly recommend you set it so a level to ensure you know that going beyond that speed will hit you in the wallet.

 

What do you think about the new speeding fines to be launched next week? Are they a good thing, do you think they will deter speeders? Let us know in the comment section.

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