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| News
Story 13. |
News Headlines.
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| This Article was written by
Paul Eastham: [Deputy Political Editor:] it was publish in Britain on
2nd. September, 2004... by 'The Daily Mail'.
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Points and fines could be cut for low-grade speeders...
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| Motorists caught
speeding at just above the limit could be given lower fines and fewer
points on their licences under a planned shake-up of penalties.
Punishments could range from £40 and two penalty points up to £100 and
six points for the most serious offences. |
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| And first-time
low-level offenders could escape a penalty altogether if they agree to
attend a police-run 'speed awareness course' at their own expense. At
present, speeding drivers get a £60 fine and three penalty points for
any offence. Motorists who accumulate 12 points can lose their
licence. |
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| Ministers hope
the introduction of a sliding scale will help rebuild trust in motoring
laws and calm the furore about speed cameras. And to head off
accusations of going soft on reckless drivers, Transport Secretary
Alistair Darling also announced tougher penalties for speeding in
residential areas. |
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| These include
roads near schools, hospitals and places where there are likely to be
'vulnerable road users'. People who drive at more than 32mph in
20mph zones will be hit by an instant £100 fine. The graduated
system, put forward in a consultation document, would become law when
Parliamentary time allows - probably after the General Election, which is
expected to be held next spring. |
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| The move comes
amid an upsurge of anger over the soaring number of speed camera
prosecutions. Ministers fear the Tories could pick up votes with
their promise to ease the severity of the system. Police and
Ministers also want to dispel the image of the cameras as money-making
machines. With a rapid growth in their numbers in recent years, tens
of thousands of drivers have seen points added to their licence when they
were just over the limit. |
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| The new proposals
would see penalties in three grades: lower - two points and a £40 fine:
medium - three points and a £60 fine: higher - six points and a £100
fine... |
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How the new rules
would work... |
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| Speed |
Two
Points |
Three
Points |
Six
Points |
| Limit |
&
£40 Fine. |
&
£60 Fine. |
&
£100 Fine. |
| 20mph |
/////// |
21-31mph |
32mph+ |
| 30mph |
31-39mph |
40-44mph |
45mph+ |
| 40mph |
41-50mph |
51-56mph |
57mph+ |
| 50mph |
51-61mph |
62-69mph |
70mph+ |
| 60mph |
61-72mph |
73-81mph |
82mph+ |
| 70mph |
71-83mph |
84-93mph |
94mph+ |
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| The system would
apply on almost all roads. On motorways with a 70mph limit, for
example, the trigger speeds to a higher grade would be 84mph and
94mph. Mr Darling said the new approach would be fairer. 'We
want to ensure the level of the penalty fits the severity of the offence -
including a crackdown on the most dangerous offences,' he said. |
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| But Robert
Gifford, executive director of the Parliamentary Advisory Council for
Transport Safety, ridiculed the announcement. He said: 'On the one
hand the Government says speed kills but on the other hand it's OK
to - speed a bit.'*1 |
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| Mary Williams,
head of the road safety group Brake, said: 'This is pandering to the
pro-speeding lobby. It sends a totally wrong message to drivers.'*1 |
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| The RAC said most
motorists would back the plan, but urged the Government to take the
circumstances of speeding offences into consideration.*2 |
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| Tory spokesman
Damien Green said: 'I am glad the Government has adopted another
Conservative idea on transport.' But he said Ministers should be
honest enough to pick up two more Tory suggestions: An independent audit
of every speed camera and a review of all speed limits. |
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| Comment... |
| *1.
These people seem to think the general public have the intelligence of a
gnat... whether you agree with their message or not... it isn't that
complicated!.. "the more you exceed the speed limit - the heavier the
fine becomes". This basic principal applies to most laws... so
why not this one? |
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| *2.
So, basically, we would agree with the position taken by the RAC... it is
a move in the right direction but they need to go further and also
"take the circumstances of speeding offences into
consideration"... unfortunately, not something that speed cameras can
do. |
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| But...
more generally... if you don't accept the basic premise that... speed
cameras save lives... then the inevitable conclusion is... that it
probably isn't going to make a lot of difference one way or the other...
at the end of the year, just as many people will have been killed on the
roads... |
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| lots
of people will have been Fined that weren't driving dangerously... in
ideal conditions it is quite possible to drive on a motorway at 94mph
safely... or to drive at 30mph in a thirty zone in a dangerous way... |
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| lots
of people will drive dangerously and never get caught by a speed camera
simply because they don't register their vehicles at the proper address...
one of the reasons hit-and-run incidents are up 62% in the last five
years... |
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| and
the 'Locals' soon get to know all the fixed cameras sites around their
area or along their daily routes and will just slow down to drive past
them... and then speed up again... so no improvement there.
Really... it just seems like a bit of tinkering around with the system to
keep people quiet for a while! |
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