Greater Manchester: Speed camera flashes cars at slow speed
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The minimum penalty for a speeding offence is a £100 fine and three penalty points added to a driving licence. Recently, it was revealed that £28.7million has been spent maintaining speed cameras across UK roads over the last five years.
However, the total revenue from speeding fines amounted to more than 13 times what was spent on the maintenance of the devices, much to the shock of drivers.
Louise Thomas, car insurance expert at Confused.com, exclusively spoke to Express.co.uk about the risks drivers take when speeding and the consequences they can expect to face.
She said: “Many drivers might be frustrated to hear how much councils are raking in from speeding fines, especially at a time when the cost of living is so high.
“Our research found that nearly one in two (47 percent) don’t know what the money from traffic offences is used for.
“And it seems this is unsurprising, given that only seven percent of the income was redistributed to maintaining the speed cameras.”
If a motorist builds up 12 or more penalty points within a period of three years, they could be disqualified from driving.
This is slightly different for new drivers. If they are still within two years of passing their driving test, their driving licence will be revoked if they build up six or more points.
Ms Thomas added: “But regardless, speed limits and cameras are in place to keep the road users safe.
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“And by issuing fines and penalty points who break the law, this can help to improve road safety.
“In fact, almost three-quarters (72 percent) of UK drivers told Confused.com that they’d been put off exceeding the speed limit again after getting a fine.”
This demonstrates how having speed cameras around and the threat they pose can deter drivers from speeding.
If a driver receives a Fixed Penalty Notice, they can choose to plead guilty or not guilty. A guilty plea means the driver will pay a £100 fine and receive three points, unless they can attend a speed awareness course.
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If they plead not guilty they’ll have to go to court and can be fined more and get more penalty points if the court decides they are guilty of speeding.
The amount that someone is fined depends on what the speed limit was and how much over it they were driving.
It is usually a percentage of their weekly income, up to a maximum of £1,000, or £2,500 if they were driving on a motorway.
Ms Thomas concluded, saying: “If you do face a fine, it could be calculated based on salary and might be heftier than you first think.
“Speeding fines are also often calculated depending on how far over the limit you are.”
The Government recently launched an initiative to raise awareness of speeding and driving too fast for road conditions, particularly in rural areas.
A new THINK! campaign is targeting young male drivers as men between the ages of 17 and 24 are four times more likely to be killed or seriously injured than drivers aged 25 or over.
Research from the Government shows that six in 10 serious and fatal collisions with young males were on rural roads.
Alongside this, the Government has invested £100million into the Safer Roads Fund, designed to deliver a “wide range of improvements” across rural roads.
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