New speed penalty plans given mixed reception by road safety professionals

Proposals for a new flexible system of speeding penalties have received a mixed reception from road safety organisations.

Penalties will range from two points for those just over the speed limit to six points for those driving much faster, according to a report in the Sunday Times on 16 May. The DfT has confirmed a consultation exercise on the scheme will begin after the June elections.

Currently, an automatic ban is given to anyone who clocks up 12 points, or four offences, within three years. Under the new system, if drivers are significantly over the limit they face receiving six penalty points or disqualification if they are convicted in a court.

Transport Secretary Alistair Darling said: "I think it is important to differentiate between somebody who does one or two miles over the limit and those who are driving 30 or 40 miles over the limit."

Chairman Steve Whitehouse (pictured), while confirming LARSOA’s broad support, issued a note of caution. "The proposal to vary points awarded for speeding offences according to severity is supported by LARSOA and forms part of a proposal within the DfT’s three-year strategy review. The proposal recognises that bigger penalties should be handed out to greater and more persistent transgressors.

"However, it must be remembered that just a few miles too fast in a residential area with a 20mph or 30mph limit can have catastrophic consequences for pedestrians, cyclists and other vulnerable road users. As such, LARSOA supports the principal but urges motorists not to see this as a menu of actions versus consequences.

"Speed awareness courses are being evaluated and evidence suggests that people attending them are less likely to speed afterwards. LARSOA advocates a greater role for measures such as these in conjunction with the new points system," Steve Whitehouse added.

The RAC also urged the Government to take the circumstances of speeding offences into consideration. Driving just above the limit outside a school may be more dangerous than going much faster on a dual carriageway late at night, spokeswoman Rebecca Bell said.

And AA Motoring Trust head of road safety Andrew Howard said drivers might take the lighter penalties less seriously - even if they are penalised more frequently.

Kevin Clinton, head of road safety at RoSPA, agreed: "People must be discouraged from speeding. We are concerned that lowering the number of points for people just over the limit might weaken the deterrent effect of speed enforcement.

"We don't want anything introduced that implies that exceeding the speed limit, even by a small amount, is a minor offence, because it is not. At 35 mph a motorist is twice as likely to kill a pedestrian as at 30 mph.

More @ http://news.bbc.co.uk