It has recently been announced by the Government that the fine for speeding on motorways is to rise significantly, with the top penalty that will be imposable by a Magistrate being quadrupled.
For those motorists caught speeding on a motorway, the new maximum fine will be £10,000, a huge sum in most people’s eyes and a significant raise on the previous figure of £2,500. The idea is to deter recklessness with speed on motorways, to reduce accidents, and to heavily punish those who don’t pay attention to speed limits on fast moving roads.
However, the new maximum penalty has not been particularly well received by motoring groups, who have highlighted the draconian nature of the enormous increase. They have also warned that the effect (intended or not) of the potential five figure fine could be to stop motorists from challenging speeding tickets in court, as a result of the fear of potentially being hit with the huge penalty if they do.
The new attorney general, Jeremy Wright, has previously highlighted the key role that magistrates play in dealing with offences that affect local communities and said that the intention of these new powers is not to prevent challenges to tickets, but to give magistrates greater flexibility to enforce both the deterrent and punishment of the fines more effectively.
In addition to the rise in the maximum speeding penalty on motorways, magistrates have a number of other new powers. For example, maximum fines for breaking speed limits on dual carriageways and other roads are to rise four-fold from £1,000 to £4,000. There are also – for the first time – powers available to magistrates to impose unlimited fines on motorists who are committing more serious offences, such as careless driving or driving without insurance.
As well as the criticisms that have been leveled at the effect of the new fines, in terms of preventing drivers from challenging their speeding tickets, the AA has said that it simply doesn’t think the increase from £2,500 to £10,000 is necessary
President of the AA Edmund King told Channel 4’s Today programme that he felt the existing fine was effective enough, saying “For the vast majority of drivers the prospect of the existing £2,500 fine is a pretty good deterrent against excessive speeding on the motorway.” He also said that he thought fines should be proportionate and questioned whether a four-fold increase in the top level of the fine could be defined as such. For Mr King, the presence of more police on the motorways would be a much more effective deterrent than increasing the upper limit of the fines.
According to Professor Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation, the numbers of speeding offences have declined in the last couple of years. Professor Glaister also pointed out that the Department for Transport recently confirmed that, over the past ten years, traffic speeds have been dropping on most types of roads – which begs the question of why these hefty new fines are considered necessary. Cynics might highlight the £284 million collected by the Government in fines in 2012-13, which was a record amount. With the new higher penalties for speeding, this looks set to break even more records.