ON THE SPOT DRIVING FINES: March 2016 in the United Kingdom brings in new careless driving fines.
The penalties will be for certain wrongdoings on the country’s roads and highways.
British law enforcement can now give steeper driving fines for any traffic offences committed by dangerous or careless drivers.
Enforceable penalties will be instantly handed out to motorists caught guilty of careless driving. The introduction of this latest inclusion of sweeping new driving fines addresses various driver offences.
On-the-Spot Careless Driving Fines UK
The most noticeable driving fines include hogging the middle lane and tailgating. Those who tailgate are driving ‘dangerously’ close behind another vehicle.
Both offences of tailgating and middle-lane hogging fall under the new careless driving rules. They now result in a fixed penalty fine of £100.
Drivers who fail to give way at a T-junction are likely to receive an instant and ‘unwelcome’ package from a police officer. The same penalty applies for motorists caught using the wrong lane while navigating a roundabout.
New Driver Penalties £50 – £300
It doesn’t end there. Further fines are now introduced for other driving offences. The amount of money careless drivers have to pay has increased across the board. The new driving fines and penalty amounts are as follows:
- Penalty Fine £50: Failing to give way, wrongfully stopping on hard shoulder, obscuring the number plate, misuse of headlights, sounding the horn at night.
- Driving Fine £100 and Licence Penalty Points: Using a mobile phone while driving, speeding, reversing on the motorway, not stopping at a red light.
- Fine £100: Having no tax disc, not wearing a seat belt, driving without an MoT.
- Fine £200 and Licence Points: Failure to identify the driver of your vehicle.
- Fine £300 and Licence Points: Driving without appropriate insurance.
Contesting a Traffic Fine
All offenders may contest penalty fines and driving licence points through the courts system. But, the UK government hopes these new steeper on-the-spot fines allows the police to deal with careless drivers. The intention is to reduce the number of traffic offence cases referred to court judges.
UK Road Safety Minister
The United Kingdom Road Safety Minister gave a report stating:
“Careless drivers are a menace. Their negligence puts innocent people’s lives at risk. That is why we are making it easier for the police to tackle problem drivers. They can immediately issue a fixed penalty notice rather than needing to take every offender to court.
We are also increasing penalties for a range of driving offences to a level which reflects their seriousness. It will ensure that they are consistent with other similar penalty offences.”
ALSO IN THIS SECTION
Articles about Workplace and Benefits: Hot off the press workplace news articles from A to Z.
Car Driving Test Rules: DVSA unveil a handful of changes to the car practical driving test.
DVSA On-the-Spot Fines: Tough new rules affect the driving hours for bus, coach, and lorry drivers.
Motorway Lessons for Learners: Motorway driving instruction part of learning to drive a car from 2018.
Splashing Pedestrian Laws: Cars splashing pedestrians with puddles is illegal in the United Kingdom.
Tram Signs Highway Code: Check how diamond shaped traffic signs give instructions to tram drivers.
VW Grilled in Westminster: MPs accuse Volkswagen emissions cheats of manufacturing ‘legal jargon’.