Tuesday 10th June 2014

£10K motorway speeding fines

You've probably heard the headlines; PH digs deeper to find out what's really going on

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Speeding is back in the headlines today with the Government proposing dramatic sounding new fines of up to £10,000 for offences including breaking motorway limits. Justice Minister Jeremy Wright has revealed that the maximum level of fines issued in magistrates' courts could be increased dramatically.

You'll be wanting to keep an eye on these

However, PistonHeads has spoken to the Ministry of Justice and, despite a number of tabloids reporting differently, this is necessarily as draconian or dramatic as it sounds. Who'd have thought.

The fines won't be issued at will on the side of the road for those caught driving at 80mph on the motorway. Instead, they're simply an increase in the range of fines currently available to magistrates as part of a punishment for serious offences, often combined with custodial sentences. Already, magistrates look at factors such as the seriousness of the offence and your earnings before deciding the amount you'll be fined. This is not changing - instead, the total amount you could be fined for the most serious offences (especially if you're a high earner) could be increased from £2,500 to £10,000.

Essentially, if you're a footballer caught at 140mph on the M6, you'll be hit a little harder than you would have been previously.

Headline grabbing fines the new maximum

But this doesn't mean that all speeding fines will suddenly be based on income. The cap is simply there to prevent cases like that in Switzerland which saw a wealthy motorist fined £656,000. Admittedly, he was driving his Mercedes at 100mph over the limit. But still.

The standard fixed penalty notice for speeding is staying the same at £100 and three points - so if you're snapped by a camera at slightly over the speed limit, the new proposals won't affect you unless you land yourself in court. And, this isn't just the Government continuing its war on motorists. Cyclists could be hit with fines of up to £800 for 'unauthorised cycle racing in a public place', and drunks could be slapped with a £4,000 fine for being drunk and disorderly.

While the Ministry of Justice says fines are not - and will not become - a replacement for time inside, they have admitted that the amount of fines collected hit a record £284m at the end of 2012/13, and the end of this financial year is likely to see even more money raised through such penalties.

 

 

[robinessex]

Oh, yes, so we all believe 'spokemen', don't we. I notice BRAKE are already on the radio blabbering about it.

BRAKE QUOTE

But James McLoughlin, from road safety charity Brake, backed tougher penalties for speeding drivers.

He said: "Speed is one of the biggest killers on our roads and, through the support we provide for victims of road crashes, we bear witness to the devastating effects of speeding.

Where does he get such complete bks from ?

http://www.abd.org.uk/pr/813.htm

Edited by robinessex on Tuesday 10th June 11:44

[robinessex]

119 posts so far, I wonder how many of the posters belong to the ABD? Less than 1% I reckon. So, pissed of off most of you will be, but you only have yourselves to blame if you don't belong to the only organisation that tries to keep the war on motorists at bay. £30/yr ain't much. http://www.abd.org.uk/