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Back to Motoring news

Motoring news

Speeding fine hike to help crime victims

31/01/2012

Drivers and car insurance policy holders who have been caught on speed cameras around the country could now face an almost 70 per cent increase in fines, thanks to a new initiative fronted by Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke.

Under an expansion in the Victims Surcharge scheme, serious driving offences and court appeals on speeding tickets could end up costing the driver in question £120.

In its current form, the scheme levies just £15 on top of fines issued by courts, but now the driver is to be targeted as well.

Mr Clarke wants the scheme to be expanded to fixed penalty notices, meaning that drivers will pay more on their speeding fines.

"Victims in this country must be able to rely on a justice system which punishes offenders properly and ensures that victims who suffer serious consequences are properly helped and supported," Mr Clarke told the Telegraph.

The Victims Surcharge Scheme has been in place since 2007 and is designed to help compensate victims of crime. Half of the additional money raised from this surcharge is to be used to compensate victims and the remaining money will be put into road safety schemes and the Treasury.

However, motoring groups believe the new initiative is nothing more than an extra 'tax' on motorists, arguing the expanded scheme is a money-raising exercise as opposed to a law enforcement measure.

"Clearly, speeding motorists are law breakers but their punishment should fit the crime, not turn into a tax paid only by this group of offenders simply because it is easy to collect," Professor Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation, told the Telegraph.

"This seems plain wrong. Adequately compensating victims is one thing, but raising the cash to do so from a particular group of offenders simply because it is easy is quite another."