Could this be the end of the ‘spirited’ drive in the countryside? As of April 24th 2017 the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 will be revised to dish out harsher penalties to those caught doing “excessive” speeds.
The biggest change to the rules is the implementation of a “% of relevant weekly income” fine which will apply in serious cases of speeding i.e. over 41mph in a 30 zone.
So if you’re caught doing 41 in a 30 zone or 81 in a 60 zone then what kind of fine could you get? Up to 125% of your weekly income!! With the average UK salary being £26,500 (around £500 per week) then the fine could be up to £625.
Fines are capped at £1,000 or £2,500 on a motorway but this is still a big uplift in the current punishment.
The other big change is the bring in of short-term disqualifications of 7-28 days for Band B and 7-56 days for Band C Sentencing range.
The message from the government seems to be pretty clear that they want to crack down on speeding motorists, but whether we see any more traffic police on the roads remains to be seen.
With the new fines set at such a high level then it could be time to spend the money on a track car and get your speed thrills at organised trackdays at Knockhill or by taking up sprinting and AutoSolo with Go Motorsport
