Motoring fines hike

Fines for motoring offences such as speeding, not wearing a seatbelt and using a mobile phone are set to be hiked from £60 to £90.

The 50 per cent increase has been proposed by Road Safety Minister Mike Penning, who also wants to give police the power to issue a £90 fixed penalty and points for careless driving. 

Penning said: “We need to make sure that the penalties for a wide range of fixed penalty motoring offences are set at reasonable levels consistent with the potentially severe consequences of some infringements.”

A statement from the Department for Transport (DfT) said that fixed penalty levels for most motoring offences had not increased since the year 2000, and are now lower than penalties of a similar level.

The DfT is also keen to cut the red tape surrounding prosecution for careless driving offences.

At present, police can either issue a warning for a careless driving offence or take the offender to court – a time consuming and costly option. The creation of a fixed penalty notice will give cops a middle ground, allowing them to penalise offenders with fines and points without the expense of dragging them in front of a judge.

Penning said: “Careless driving is a major public concern and a cause of deaths and injuries on our roads. 

“These changes support both police enforcement and, for some cases, the associated offer of educational training for motorists unaware of the full, potential consequences of driving carelessly.”

The DfT is carrying out a consultation on both proposals that will close on 5 September 2012.