Speeding fines set to rise
If I asked you point blank now, how many motorists in the UK get fines each year?
I’ll give you a second to think of your answer…
Ready?
Okay, here’s the actual answer:
12 million.
That’s a third of all the drivers on the road.
Pretty nuts, right? And that doesn’t even take into the account all the drivers that are given speed awareness courses as opposed to speeding fines (that’s a further 1.4 million).
And it’s a number on the rise, which means we can expect even more motorists to receive fines next year.
Why the increase?
Well, it ultimately comes down to the increased use of remote cameras by local authorities and police to catch offenders.
More cameras, more fines.
What do you think about the increase of cameras? Fair, or not fair?
And how often do your drivers end up getting pinged?
Here's the link to the original article.
Leave a comment below and let me know what you think.
Colin Decker
In my opinion fines for speeding are correct. If you are speeding then you should get fined.
It’s a very black and white scenario. And provided you are not excessively speeding and it’s your first offence, you will probably be offered a speed awareness course.
However, there are examples where councils are fining 1000s of users a year, for things such as driving in bus lanes. Perhaps it needs to be considered that if there an excessive number of fines being produced by one camera, then perhaps the issue is actually with that road layout, or the signs and markings. However, there is little incentive for the council to fix the underlying issue, as they are making money off of the fines.
As an idea, maybe the amount of revenue that can be generated from a fixed camera for bus lanes etc should be capped. Any revenue over a certain level gets used to improve the signs/markings in the location in question.
Darren
I don’t see the problem.
No speeding = No fine.
Quite simple really, if you broke the law in any other walk of life (shoplifting, for example), you would expect punishment, why should speeding be any different?
Andrew Wilkins
I personally think fines will increase as the number of road users is increasing!
Driving Monitor
Andrew, it’s true the number of drivers on our roads is increasing, and those 17-year-olds who didn’t learn to drive in the 2009 recession are now starting to drive too!
Seb
Not fair! Just seems to be a way for police and local authorities to make some money.
Was in Bala, North Wales in the summer, and both me and my friend got pinged – neither of us were driving dangerously, and when I googled it, it seems like loads of people get done there.
Just a bit harsh really…
Driving Monitor
Bala you say Seb? Sounds like a known spot for pinging drivers! There’s more and more cases of automated cameras catching people on roads that don’t seem to be dangerous – and some may see this as a local council money-spinner.