SP30 Insurance - Insurance for drivers with speeding endorsements

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Speed Limits | Speeding Penalties | Speeding Endorsements | Speeding Courses

SPEEDING OFFENCES & SPEED LIMITS

It is an offence to drive a motor vehicle on a road while exceeding the legal speed limit.

UK National Speed Limits

Local Maximum Speed Limits

In addition to the national speed limits outlined above there may be locally set speed limits. Locally set speed limits are set by local councils in certain areas such outside schools or on particularly bad roads. These locally set speed limits must be clearly signposted.

Find out about speed limits in your local area

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Speeding Penalties - Fines and Penalty Points

The majority of people caught speeding are offered the chance to take a fixed penalty. However, people with a certain amount of penalty points already will have to go to appear at court instead.

Magistrates sentencing guidelines for speeding offences.

The fixed penalty system was introduced by The Transport Act 1982 [2]. It was introduced as a means to speed up the prosecution procedure for certain traffic offences such as exceeding the legal speed limit.

Fixed penalty for speeding: 3 penalty points and a £60 fine

Anyone who receives a fixed penalty notice has 28 days to comply with the notice or they will face further penalties and/or prosecution.

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DVLA Speeding Endorsement Codes

Endorsements & Penalty Points

Speed awareness courses

The national speed awareness scheme offers certain motorists who have been caught speeding an alternative to prosecution. This applies to all speed bands with the exception of 20mph zones.

The course is designed to educate motorists with the intention of helping them become safer drivers and hopefully avoid exceeding legal speed limits in the future.

Motorists offered the chance to complete a speed awareness course will have the option of paying a fee and completing the course as an alternative to receiving penalty points and a fine.

Once a driver has completed a speed awareness course they will not be eligible to receive another course offer if they commit a speeding offence within 3 years of the original speeding offence.

NSAC - National Speed Awareness Course Providers

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Reference

[1] The Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984

[2] The Transport Act 1982

Resources

NADIP - National Association of Driver Intervention Providers

SPEEDING

Triable only summarily:
Maximum: Level 3 fine (level 4 if motorway)
Must endorse and may disqualify. If no disqualification, impose 3-6 points

Magistrates must:

Form a preliminary view of the appropriate sentence, then consider offender mitigation

Consider a reduction for guilty plea
(ranging from a recommended one third off any sentence imposed)

Consider ancillary orders, including disqualification and deprivation of property

Decide sentence
Give reasons

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For more information on sentencing guidelines, fine bands, sentencing for multiple offences and ancillary orders please visit SGC - Sentencing Guidelines Council, Magistrates Court Sentencing Guidelines [online]. Available from http://www.sentencing-guidelines.gov.uk. © Crown Copyright 2012.