These new fines, are they all based on earnings or do the fixed penalties still get used?
Saw a man on the Derbyshire constabulary page had been find over 1700 quid for doing 59 on the m1 when the variable speed had been reduced to 50. That seems a bit harsh to me.

earnings based, depends on what 1700 quid means to you. What does it mean to a footballer?

wrightyson – Member

That seems a bit harsh to me.

Not if he was in a Bugatti.

Bmw apparently. So all fines now based on earnings percentage? Even say an old school fixed 30mph camera? If you’re doing say 36 get flashed it’s not longer 3 points and 100 quid?

Seems like a fair system to me – everyone’s punishment cost’s the same relative amount of pain…

That seems a bit harsh to me.

Not harsh enough if there were operatives in the work area. It’s a simple concept if it says max 50 don’t exceed this and be prepared to travel slower than this.

I got popped last month.

63 in a 40 “smart motorway” section of the M6. All lanes open and no other traffic at 2am.

£100 fine and 3 points. Was expecting worse.

Dont speed folks.

Seems like a fair system to me

+1

The old system was crap. Flat £100 fine could mean someone going without heating for a week, while someone else might regard it is a perfectly reasonable charge to drive as fast as they like.

That seems a bit harsh to me.

That’s the point isn’t it? Hit you in the wallet because that’s all some people understand! Might actually change his behaviour, you never know!

Looking at the post there were two drivers fined.

One was doing 80mph in a 50mph – £1490 fine

Other doing 59mph in a 50mph – £1730 fine.

If it had been the other way round the richer guy would have been looking at a fine of nearly £3k.

Handy table here to work out how much

So justify the 100 quid fine for ginger above who was 23 mph over the variable limit when this guy was 9mph over. That seems like an old standard fine to me and hugely disproportionate to the offence.

Northern Matt, the other guy got a ban as well didn’t he. He was clearly taking the piss at that speed though.

So justify the

No idea bu there is a simple solution that involves paying attention and not speeding. Easy answer I know.

Yeah 56 day ban, it would have been that or 6 points.

Luckily for the irresponsible half the cameras aren’t switched on, because there’s no financial incentive any more.

How do they judge earnings? I’m freelance and low salary + dividends (so probably soon to be revealed in Paradise Papers 😀 ).

So justify the 100 quid fine for ginger above who was 23 mph over the variable limit

sounds like the old (pre income-based) penalty structure. How/why, don’t know.

How do they judge earnings? I’m freelance and low salary + dividends

It reads like it’s based on income, not salary. Maybe they average it out over the last year. I’m sure they’ve thought about it 🙂

Are these new sanctions applicable in Scotland?

How do they judge earnings? I’m freelance and low salary + dividends

Yup, same here. As a 1 man Ltd Co.

Would be interested to see how it plays out.

tiggs121 – Member
Are these new sanctions applicable in Scotland?

No

Isn’t it still 3 points/fixed penalty £100 fine or a speed awareness course* unless you either:

a. go to court (for not paying fine etc)
b. are doing substantially over the limit
c. are not eligible for the points (have 9/12 already etc).

That article linked above is hugely confusing/inaccurate.

*That’s what I was offered last month for 55ish in a 50.

My salary is boosted by a bonus at christmas. I don’t always get it, sometimes it’s more sometimes less. Again be interested to see what it’s based on.

Lad at work got done recently for doing 38 in a 20 during school kicking out time, so Band B. Ended up with a £550 fine. He was expecting a straight £100 so it came as a bit of a shock to him. Not to anyone else though, he habitually speeds everywhere. Hasn’t slowed him down though.

What’s sad is the comments below that Evo article northernmatt linked to with people saying it’s a money-grabbing exercise by the government! It’s not. Don’t speed = no fine. It is really as simple as that. If I can manage it driving 15k a year private mileage and working as a courier (so add another 20-25k and the pressure of time limits on deliveries) without a single fine in 18 years of driving then anyone can.

what happens if your a min wage erner then?

Above someone said its better for the lower earners, well say 350 quid a week is your salary and they take the standard band a from you it’s a 175 fine. Mr bugatti can easily stand his big 2000 quid fine as he earns so much each week but that would be very hard on someone earning the 350.
A fwiw I try very hard not to speed myself, don’t condone it in anyway and totally understand you only have yourself to blame etc.

Isn’t it still 3 points/fixed penalty £100 fine or a speed awareness course* unless you either:

a. go to court (for not paying fine etc)
b. are doing substantially over the limit
c. are not eligible for the points (have 9/12 already etc).

Yes.

Lad I work with just got done for doing 47 in a 30 limit, don’t know what the penalty will be as he is probably going to court.
It’s his second speeding offence this year and he already has 3 points but he also hasn’t been passed his test 2 years so there is a high probability he will have his licence revoked as if you get 6 points in your first 2 years of driving you lose you licence.

Above someone said its better for the lower earners, well say 350 quid a week is your salary and they take the standard band a from you it’s a 175 fine.

IIRC it’s your post-tax income so mr £350pw would typically be fined £150ish

So Mr £1700 fine is probably pulling in something like £325000 a year – water off a duck’s back to him i’ll venture

sboggy – Member 

Lad I work with just got done for doing 47 in a 30 limit, don’t know what the penalty will be as he is probably going to court.

No offence as its a work colleague etc but they are the arseholes who want banning!

So Mr £1700 fine is probably pulling in something like £325000 a year – water off a duck’s back to him i’ll venture

Depends on his credit commitments. Could be the straw…

I got done in early September, speed camera van parked up in the bushes at the end of a long straight bit of road exiting a village. 35mph in a 30zone, I basically accelerated a bit too soon.

Did the speed awareness course a few days ago, it was actually quite good. Not preachy and the instructors made the effort to keep iut relaxed. SOme fairly stereotypical people there though including several who were on their second or third course! For the most part, everyone was pretty reasonable.

Not condoning speeding but those smart motorways and leaving a 40mph restriction on in the middle of the night when there are no hazards/ works is a bit rich.

Round our way it seems at night nobody bothers with the 30 limit or the no >7.5t limit through the village.

Not condoning speeding but those smart motorways and leaving a 40mph restriction on in the middle of the night when there are no hazards/ works is a bit rich.

As I understand it some are linked to pollution and/or noise sensors and deploy the restrictions if either of these are too high (i.e. nothing to do with hazards or lack of)

mickmcd – Member
what happens if your a min wage erner then?

You’d be fined, 50%, 100% or 150% of your weekly wage depending on how much you were over the limit.

That’s only really the starting point though, the court hands down the fine, if you want to you can write to them and explain you can’t afford it etc. They used to give you up to a year from the judgement to pay it, as long as you kept up the payments.

I got a £350 fine for someone years back when we were more skint than even now, I paid £35 a month a think.

Did the speed awareness course a few days ago, it was actually quite good. Not preachy and the instructors made the effort to keep iut relaxed. SOme fairly stereotypical people there though including several who were on their second or third course! For the most part, everyone was pretty reasonable.

I’ve got one coming up. I really can’t imagine it being much use, I’m perfectly aware of how danger increases with speed. Ho hum. Silly me.

34 in a 30 zone = just over £400 for me. Not in a Bugatti. Was expecting £100. Filled in form to show that outgoings exceed incomings as they always seem to. Assumed it was a N. Yorks thing as they don’t have cameras (radar in Lythe as it goes).

Drive marginally slower now. Through Lythe. Unless the surf’s good and I’m in danger of missing the tide. Hey ho.

What if, like, the driver is the non-earning half of a rather well off couple?

The form asks about household income. Ours will be high in the distribution I guess, get me, so mustn’t grumble. We’re just rubbish with money (as in drive an old berlingo and have no idea how anyone affords anything else).

I got done for 34mph in a 30mph and did a speed awareness course a few weeks ago. £78 in Leeds.
Enjoyed the course, I was expecting it to be really boring and preachy. It was actually really interesting though, with some really useful facts.

Not condoning speeding but those smart motorways and leaving a 40mph restriction on in the middle of the night when there are no hazards/ works is a bit rich.

As has been said pollution can mean lower speed limits and also if there is and incident further down the motorway, they sometimes slow the upstream traffic down so they can clear the incident.

I may have gotten off easy as it was very much a first offence – never had a ticket in 15 years until now. If anyone is really interested I’ll dig out the paperwork and see what it says.

I did look into what controls “smart motorway gantry signs” and as it turns out 90% of them are computer controlled. They can be triggered by something as simple as an abnormal load going a bit slowly among other things. Turns out they’re not very smart.

My driving habits have changed though – aint got a spare £1k knocking around, would be shafted if I got a big fine.