DRIVING OFFENCES

1 in 3 Motorists Facing Fines on UK Roads

If you’ve ever been snapped by a speed camera, you’re in the company of 12 million other drivers each year who receive a penalty notice. 

That’s the equivalent of one every 2½ seconds! These figures have been revealed in a recent study by the RAC Foundation. Adam Snow, a criminology lecturer at Liverpool Hope University, conducted the study and found that eight million parking fines are issued annually by councils, with 1.2 million drivers per year attending court-ruled speed awareness courses.

Dr Snow also estimated that around £25 million per year is made by police forces profiting from fixed penalty notices, and that London-based councils made more than £371 million in the last year from parking and traffic fines. This is comparable to the £211 million he estimates that local authorities in the rest of England and Wales made over the past year.

The RAC Foundation has called for fines to be ‘proportionate’. Director Steve Gooding says:

“While wrongdoing should be punished and not excused, a decline in frontline policing risks and imbalanced approach to enforcement. When it comes to civil enforcement, some bus lanes and box junctions have become renowned as money spinners.”

“If thousands of drivers a day are getting tickets, this is a clear indication of a system that is failing.”

The study was revealed as an 875 yard stretch of road in Birmingham was revealed to fine an average of 500 drivers a month since it was introduced at the beginning of the year.

How DPP Driving Offence Solicitors Can Help

If you’ve been accused of a driving offences, we can help. Contact a member of our dedicated team today.