Speeding - New Points System For Scotland?
Penalty Point ProposalsIf you have been involved in a speeding case in Scotland or have been charged with speeding in Scotland you may wish to know that in an attempt to increase road safety the UK Government has proposed increasing the number of penalty points which can be imposed on drivers who substantially exceed the speed limit. The current penalty for a speeding offence is 3-6 penalty points, and sometimes disqualification. It may be questionable therefore whether fixed penalties really require to be increased. If they are to be increased for the more dangerous types of speeding e.g. near Schools then should they be reduced for less dangerous e.g. just over 70mph on a motorway? Under these proposals if a driver goes over the speed limit generally by 20mph, he could in future face six penalty points. The thresholds are as follows:Speed Limit Proposed 6-point threshold20 35 or 4030 45 or 5040 6050 7060 8070 90 or 95No similar increase in fines for speeding offences was proposed: the fixed penalty remains at £60. Nor was there any proposal to impose fewer penalty points where a driver was only slightly over the speed limit.The proposed system attempts to address particular concerns about speeding, including:- speeding in built-up areas, and the danger this causes to pedestrians. Research shows that the 30mph limit is one of the most frequently broken. - “excessive speeders”, who break a range of speed limits, often substantially. They are particularly dangerous and are the most likely to be involved in accidents.The rationale behind the system is that drivers “Begin to slow down” if they have 6-9 points on their licence. This is because under the totting-up procedure, if a driver accumulates 12 or more points on his licence in a period of 3 years, he will automatically be disqualified for 6 months. The speeding proposal was made in a November 2008 Consultation Paper entitled “Road Safety Compliance“. Other matters covered were drink driving, careless driving, and remedial training and testing. For further details, see:Department for Transport, Road Safety Compliance Consultation, November 2008,http://www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/open/compliance/roadsafetyconsultation.pdf