Speeding fines are set to get tougher in April, and van drivers could face harsher sentencing as a result of their professions.
The penalties for driving while using a phone have also been increased. Offenders will receive a compulsory 6 points and £200 fine.
The new guidelines have been issued by the Sentencing Council, whose role it to provide sentencing guidelines for the courts in England and Wales.
There will be several major areas of change:
- Tougher penalties for speeding with mandatory points and temporary disqualfication
- Speeding fines for most serious offences increased from 100% to 150% of weekly income, although the upper limit remain fixed at £1,000 or £2,500 on a motorway.
- The court will consider aggravating factors, such as whether the offender is a licenced professional driver from whom higher standards should be expected. Other examples of aggravating factors include bad weather and being near a school.
- The penalty for driving while on the phone will be doubled to £200 and six points, with no option to avoid points by taking a driver education course
Here’s a summary of the new sentencing bands for speeding offences. Note the more severe penalties for serious speeding (the second column):
| Speed limit (mph) | Recorded speed (mph) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 41 and above | 31 – 40 | 21 – 30 |
| 30 | 51 and above | 41 – 50 | 31 – 40 |
| 40 | 66 and above | 56 – 65 | 41 – 55 |
| 50 | 76 and above | 66 – 75 | 51 – 65 |
| 60 | 91 and above | 81 – 90 | 61 – 80 |
| 70 | 101 and above | 91 – 100 | 71 – 90 |
| Sentencing range | Band C fine (125-175% of relevant weekly income*) | Band B fine (75-125% of relevant weekly income*) | Band A fine (25-75% of relevant weekly income*) |
| Points/disqualification | Disqualify 7 – 56 days OR 6 points | Disqualify 7 – 28 days OR 4 – 6 points |
3 points |
Source: Sentencing Council (https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/offences/item/speeding-revised-2017/)
*Upper limit remains unchanged at £1,000 or £2,500 on a motorway.
The Sentencing Council’s goal with these changes is to “to ensure that there is clear increase in penalty as the seriousness of offending increases”. The point here is that the risk of injury to pedestrians or other drivers rises dramatically with speed.
According to road crash victim support charity RoadPeace, the chance of killing a pedestrian in a 20mph speed limit rises from 1% at the speed limit to 83% at 41mph.
Historically, the difference in penalties between the different bands of speeding has not reflected the increased likelihood of causing death. These changes, which come into force on 24 April 2017, are aimed at redressing this imbalance.
Pingback: Should you consider a van with on-board power? | Van News: The VanRental.co.uk Blog
Pingback: UK van and pickup speed limits | Van News: The VanRental.co.uk Blog