Speeding fines, tickets and penalties guide

Speeding is a common offence in the UK, and if you do get caught, currently the minimum penalty is a £100 fine and 3 penalty points added to your licence. It's helpful to understand the repercussions you’ll be faced with if you do happen to get caught speeding, which is why we’ve created this guide. 

What happens if you’re caught speeding

The following will happen if you get caught by a speeding camera or police officer:

-As the owner of the car, you will be sent a Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP), detailing the offence. Plus, a document called a Section 172 notice within 14 days of the offence

-Whether you agree with the NIP or not, within 28 days you must complete the Section 172 notice declaring who was driving the car at the time of the offence. 

-After you’ve sent the 172 notice back, you’ll either be sent a fixed penalty notice (FPN) or a letter to attend court.

What happens once you receive a speeding ticket?

If you’re issued an FPN, you can plead guilty or not guilty. If you plead guilty, you’ll pay a £100 fine and have 3 points added to your licence. It’s important to note that after 12 points have been added to your licence, you’ll be banned from driving.

You may be given the opportunity to attend a speed awareness course, however you can only usually take this if you haven’t committed a speeding offence in the past 3 years.

If you plead not guilty, you’ll have to go to court and contest the decision. However, you can receive a heftier fine and more penalty points if the court finds you guilty.

What are the penalties and fines?

The amount you’re fined depends what speed you were going and what the speed limit was. In 2017, the speeding penalty system was overhauled, with larger fines for drivers charged with excessive speed. If you are prosecuted in court, the amount you are fined and number of points you receive (or the disqualification period) will firstly be determined by the speed you were travelling over the posted limit, as shown here.
 

*This is what you may expect, however the magistrate has the power to charge you anywhere between 25% and 100% of your weekly income, meaning major offenders could face a fine of 175 percent of their weekly income.

There are also further bands, D,E and F that deal with excessive speed when:

-the driver is on bail
-has existing convictions
-is speeding in poor weather conditions
-driving a large vehicle
-towing a caravan or trailer
-carrying passengers or a heavy load
-driving a hire car
-driving in a place with lots of traffic and pedestrians 

Band D - you will be fined between 200% and 300% of your weekly income.
Band E - you will be fined between 300% and 500% of your weekly income.
Band F - you will be fined between 500% and 700% of your weekly income.

It’s also worth noting that £1,000 is still the maximum speeding fine unless you were driving on a motorway - in this case, the maximum fine increases to £2,500.

For new drivers, If you’re still within 2 years of passing your driving test, your driving licence will be revoked (withdrawn) if you build up 6 or more penalty points.

The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) recommends providing drivers a so-called "10 percent plus 2" leeway to help police officers use "discretion," but it's important to realise that this is just a suggestion, not a regulation. So if you’re doing 31mph in a 30 limit or 71mph on a motorway, you’re still breaking the law.

Unfortunately, speed cameras in the UK are now part of our motoring life, with 7000 of them positioned around the country, so keep a look out… because otherwise you could be left with a hefty fine.

https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/new-and-used-cars/article/speeding-tickets-explained-auRUh9H3DFHz