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Speeding Fines
The last audited 12 month period is the 2008/09 financial year. This is the first report to collate the total amount of money generated from fixed penalties caught on speed cameras and fines for speeding and neglect of traffic directions imposed by the magistrates' courts throughout all of the UK. Previous attempts to collate speeding fine figures have not accounted for fines accrued in magistrates' courts or an aggregate figure for the UK. Speed camera and speeding fines income for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland can be found below. • A total of £87,368,227 was collected in speeding and red light offences caught on speed cameras in the financial period 2008-09 in the UK. This also includes fines from magistrates' courts for speeding offences and neglect of traffic directions in 2008. • The total includes £65,748,850 from fixed penalties detected by cameras operated by safety camera partnerships in England and Wales. • It also includes £19,214,594 in fines from magistrates' courts for speeding offences and neglect of traffic directions in calendar year 2008 in England and Wales. • It also includes £1,641,630 collected for speeding offences by the Scottish Courts in 2008-09. • It also includes £763,153 from fixed penalties detected by speed cameras in Northern Ireland. • The road casualty rate has declined at a slower rate since speed cameras were introduced in the early 1990s. • Using the road casualty rate from 1978-1990 it can be estimated that 1,555,244 more road casualties have occurred from 1991-2007,3 than would have if the 1978-1990 trend had continued. We are probably all guilty of exceeding the speed limit at some time or other. Coming from a fast road like a motorway onto a slow B road, 30 mph can seem so slow that you're almost going backwards but you must resist the temptation to put your foot down otherwise you could receive a hefty fine and points on your licence. The police no longer have to do the job as they have a team of mechanical watchdogs to do it for them. Speed cameras are going up everywhere and not all are obvious. Some counties have decided that the speed cameras are meant to be for preventing accidents and are therfore prominent and easy to spot. Some counties however don't want people to know where they are until its to late in an attempt to slow everyone down. Sceptics could of course argue that they just want to make more money. Either way its the motorist that has the most to lose which ever way they are caught. This table shows the basic fines you can expect to get for each offence but note that as from December 2004 each case will be looked at individually and assesed for weather conditions, road conditions time of day etc.
Endorsements, penalty points and disqualification How to complain about speeding fines? You can challenge a speeding fine in court. The Magistrates determine any fine and penalty points awarded. They have the power to increase the fine and the penalty points, and you may also be ordered to pay court costs. Taking a case to court You should allow 28 days for the conditional offer to expire. You will then receive a summons. You can give reasons for disputing the speeding fine on the summons, plus any evidence you want the court to take into account. What is a notice of intended prosecution? The purpose of the notice of intended prosecution (NIP) is to inform the potential defendant that he may be prosecuted for the offence he has committed, whilst the incident is still fresh in his memory. When you receive an NIP it does not automatically mean that you are going to face prosecution, it is a warning that you may face prosecution. The NIP must be served within 14 days of the offence. The details that are commonly used if the details of the driver are not known are those of the registered keeper. If the registered keeper was not the driver and the driver receives the NIP after 14 days as long as it was posted within the 14 days it is still valid. Also if the registered keeper/driver has changed address and not informed DVLA, as long as the NIP was posted in 14 days then it is still valid. If you have received an NIP after a period of 14 days then it is likely to be for one of the reasons above. NIPS can also be issued verbally or alternatively you could receive a court summons through the post for the alleged offence. Small mistakes on the notice do not render it ineffective unless it would mislead the potential defendant. The NIP is said to be served when it has been posted using ordinary post, it is still valid even if it gets lost in the post. The burden of proof is on the potential defendant to prove that neither he nor the registered keeper received the notice and the prosecution only need to prove that the notice was posted. |
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