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Insurers turn blind eye to camera offences                                                  

The large number of drivers being caught by safety cameras has led to insurers no longer automatically penalising them for having points on their licence, according to a report on www.timesonline.co.uk.

Last year more than two million drivers received three points and a £60 fine, and a quarter of households now have at least one driver with a speeding conviction.

Insurers used to raise premiums by at least £50 for those caught once by a camera and by more than £250 for those caught three times. But many companies no longer raise premiums for a single speeding offence, and some are prepared to ignore a second.

Road safety groups said that the financial consequences of being caught speeding were now so low that the fine should be at least doubled to £120 to maintain the deterrent effect.

A survey conducted by insurance broker A&A Group was based on drivers living in St Albans, who had four years' no claims bonus and drove a Ford Focus 1.6 valued at £5,000. It found that the premium for a 30-year-old woman would stay at £177 even she acquired six penalty points. At nine points, one offence away from a ban, she would pay £36 extra.

A 40-year-old man would pay £13 extra for six points and £35 more for nine points. Even a man aged 21 years, normally deemed a high risk, would pay only £103 extra for nine points.

Tony Allen , chief executive of A&A Group, said that insurers now took a more sophisticated view of speeding offences and were more likely to take other factors into account. "If you are a high-mileage driver then it is more understandable that you get speeding penalties. Also, if someone is caught speeding by a policeman, insurers tend to see that as more significant than being caught by a camera."

Brake, the road safety charity, said that the risk of receiving a higher insurance bill had been an important part of the deterrent against speeding.

"The £60 fine is pocket money to many drivers and the insurance increase often used to hurt much more than the fine," said Mary Williams , Brake's chief executive. "Now premiums are not going up it makes sense to double the fine at the very least. It's absurd that you can be fined £1,000 for fly tipping or smoking on a bus but only £60 for endangering people's lives on the road."

PACTS director, Rob Gifford , said that all motoring fines needed to be reviewed, but he believed penalty points were much more important to most drivers than the size of the fine.

The Government is proposing in the Road Safety Bill to cut the number of points from three to two for drivers caught only a few miles over the limit. Mr Gifford said: "Instead of being disqualified for a fourth speeding offence, drivers would get up to six chances. If they took a speed awareness course instead of a penalty they may have to be caught speeding seven times before being banned."

For full article visit: www.timesonline.co.uk/driving