Speeding In The UK Is About To Get Really Expensive And Most People Have No Idea
Speeding is one of the most divisive issues in the car world. We probably all do it, whether it’s driving at 25mph in a 20mph limit or 80mph on a 70mph motorway. But while the punishments used to be a minor slap on the wrist until you got caught too many times, a new system is about to come into force. Let’s just say it’s rather unfriendly when it comes to your relationship with your wallet.
The system is changing, raising the maximum possible fine from 100 per cent of your weekly wages to 150 per cent, and in numbers that equates to maximums of £1000 on A- and B-roads, plus urban streets, and £2500 on the motorway. While creeping over the limit won’t net you a bigger punishment than before, going a bit bonkers could see you really getting stung.
A study by Honest John suggests that 84 per cent of people don’t know what this all means, or that it comes into force in a few days on 24 April. Effectively, as of then, the courts will be able to ask for proof of your weekly take-home pay and charge you up to 150 per cent of it. Ouch. To get into that mess you have to have been doing 41mph or more in a 20mph zone, 51mph or more in a 30mph area or, at the top end, 101mph or more on a 70mph road. Below that level of excess, the punishments stay the same.
But is this just a big, steaming pile of bull? Given that the speed limits in the UK were set back when staying at 70mph for too long might actually result in a breakdown, and when for many cars even getting to 70mph at all was a mission, why are we saying that we’re no safer than 60 years ago? In many towns speed limits have actually been lowered, from 30mph to 20mph.
The counterpoint to this is how much busier the roads are these days. If you lose control, the chances of you hitting other people are much higher than they were in the 1960s, and cars are heavier now, making them more dangerous when they’re pinballing around a carriageway. On the other hand, there’s simply no comparison between the protection offered by a modern car and the non-existent impact absorption of a 60-year-old family car.
There are also a lot more semi-autonomous safety features today, like cruise control, autonomous emergency braking and even systems that can swerve to avoid a crash. Surely that’s enough to offset a higher speed limit? Frankly, I reckon the limits on motorways should have risen, if nothing else.
The really annoying thing is that people like us tend not to be to blame. We love our cars, we love driving and we respect the roads because we know what can happen if we get things badly wrong, but at the same time we’re also more attentive than the average driver, more in tune with our cars and more capable of gathering-up a minor loss of control without panicking. We don’t deserve to be treated like naughty kids if we choose to go a bit faster than the limit.
I know of some pretty stupid 20mph zones where nothing goes on and 40mph feels fine. I also know some 60mph roads where I daren’t go past 30mph because they’re narrow and perpetually blind. How does that happen? Who knows. What we do know is that if you like to put the hammer down, you could be in for a shock when the fine comes through.
Comments
Speeding is a big money spinner for the gov, it has nothing to do with making the roads safer (or we would all be sent on speed awareness courses).
The increase in speed cameras on the motorway is not about safety. Everytime i go on the m25 the number of cars i see doing well under the speed limit and then either slamming the brakes when they see a camera or lifting off the gas. Not surprising you get instances of tail backs because people are constantly slamming the brakes at every camera. So whilst the gov claim they want to improve safety, they have actually not solved the speeding issue, they have simply replaced it with another, and frankly more dangerous, issue.
Money. Making. System.
Highest speed limits here in the US are around 85mph, most large highways or “motorways” are around 75. The lowest speed limits that are common are 25. British roads have too low of speed limits and that’s just a fact. Fines aren’t the bigger issue here, the main punishment is getting points off your license, and once you run out of points you lose it.
Where are the 85 limits? I’ve seen 70s, but not 75 yet.
The national speed limit in the UK is 70. Outside of towns on A roads it’s generally 65. British roads are also a lot smaller and have bends in them. Cities grew, they weren’t planned in a space large enough to build a grid of straight roads. Towns and cities are a lot more condensed and have pedestrians. Lots and lots of pedestrians. Not just in the major cities, but in the towns and villages as well where things are close enough to walk to.
The UK also has a points system, pretty much the same except the UK does not abide drunk driving at all whereas in America every third person seems to have had a DUI.
What the UK does have is bloody speed cameras everywhere. It’s like a fixation to police and local government.
The irony is, I never got caught speeding in the UK. I got my first speeding ticket here on California - on the road they shot the last truck heist scene in Fast And The Furious.
Speeding in the UK will NOT get more expensive for most people. The current fine for being caught speeding is £100 if you pay the fine and don’t have to go to court. This is not going away.
The rule changes are for fines set by the court if you’re summoned and even then it’s not a case of it being more expensive. Consider the following.
The current fine is a maximum of up to £1000 regardless of your income. The new rules do rely on a percentage of your wages but to be worse off you would need to earn over £700 a WEEK which is something a lot of Brits do not. 150% of £700 is £1050 so they’re only worse off by £50. Someone on a more realistic wage of say, £385 a week would see their fine set at a maximum of £577.50 which is a whole lot less than the current £1000. I fully support this because on the flip side it means all the CEOs and footballers earning mega money will now be fined an amount of money they will actually notice!
I am certainly glad I don’t live in commie europe
I’ve never driven through a speed camera before
I love how the tickets are based off of the offender’s income. Wish that they’d do this everywhere.
Aaah, but finland has been doing this kind of thing for years ;P
After reading this, God bless the U.SA.
In my opinion, the speed limit on motorways especially should be increased. On motorways, the thing that causes accidents isn’t high speed; it’s large differences in speed. That means if one car is doing 90mph and everyone else is at 70mph, there is a danger. However, if everyone was doing 90mph, it would be safer. As for 20 zones, they’re a joke. An area near my school was reduced from 40 to 30, then 20, and it’s a road where 50 would still be comfortable. The problem is that idiotic kids run across the road instead of using the subway. I’ve even seen kids using the road as a means to pass other children walking.
Or you could just, you know, let people go on with their daily lives and not extort them for money by slapping ridiculous fines on them when they violate your absurdly low speed limits. Just saying.
Ouch my checking account would hurt
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