Speeding Fines Surge to Highest Level in Four Years

The influx of high-tech digital speed cameras has seen the the number of motorists trapped surge to 115,000 in the last year - the highest number since 2009.

Ministry of Justice figures show that a total of 115,549 motorists were fined at least £100 pounds by magistrates after being caught speeding (Those convicted of a speeding offence must pay a minimum of £100 and will have three penalty points added to their licences. ), The increase is put down to the £10,000 digital cameras, that no longer require film and can operate 24 hours a day.

South Wales has seen one of the biggest increases, with the number of people fined tripling last year to 6,491, from 2,181 three years earlier.

The number of offenders has also grown in that period by almost 1,000 in both South Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, and by close to 2,000 in Staffordshire.

While London saw the most people fined last year, the figure for the Metropolitan Police area has fallen to 7,736 - its lowest level in five years.


The total number of motorists caught speeding is believed to be far higher, as the figures only take into account those summoned to court for failure to pay fines and where speed was particularly excessive.

Police force area	Offenders fined	Police force area	Offenders fined
Metropolitan Police	7,736	Northamptonshire	521
Cumbria	1,473	Cambridge	2,831
Lancashire	5,651	Norfolk	1,675
Merseyside	2,545	Suffolk	2,114
Greater Manchester	5,964	Bedfordshire	1,553
Cheshire	1,788	Hertfordshire	1,983
Northumbria	2,160	Essex	3,091
Durham	469	Thames Valley	4,466
North Yorkshire	1,776	Hampshire	3,667
West Yorkshire	4,567	Surrey	3,134
South Yorkshire	3,511	Kent	3,915
Humberside	3,046	Sussex	1,976
Cleveland	813	Devon and Cornwall	2,410
West Midlands	1,442	Avon and Somerset	3,925
Staffordshire	5,164	Gloucestershire	561
West Mercia	2,598	Wiltshire	406
Warwickshire	2,778	Dorset	1,172
Derbyshire	1,075	North Wales	1,744
Nottinghamshire	2,900	Gwent	2,486
Lincolnshire	3,179	South Wales	6,491
Leicestershire	2,253	Dyfed-Powys	2,540
	Total England and Wales		115,549

Last week the Institution of Engineering and Technology said in the future the speed at which cars can travel may be altered to fit the driver's experience, and the development of driverless cars may mean an end to speeding.

'Speeding may become a thing of the past as cars are likely to be fitted with speed-limiting devices.'
This year this year a speed camera in Cardiff generated more than an estimated £800,000 worth of fines in just six months.

According to road safety group GoSafe Wales, the device on the junction of the city's Newport Road and Colchester Avenue caught 13,624 speeding motorists and a further 146 running red lights between January and June.

A spokeswoman for the Department for Transport said: 'Speeding can have devastating consequences and it's right that drivers should abide by the speed limit. These fines were issued at the discretion of the magistrates and show the number of fines issued is in decline across many police force areas.'