Drivers should be punished for going just 1mph over the speed limit, Britain’s roads policing chief has reportedly said.
Chief constable Anthony Bangham is said to have called for an end to the 10% “buffer” over the limit, and said speeding awareness courses were being used too widely instead of penalty points and fines.
Mr Bangham, the National Police Chiefs Council lead on road policing, added that drivers caught speeding should “not come whinging to us about” it.
According to the Daily Mail, the West Mercia chief said in a speech at the Police Federation Roads Policing Conference on Tuesday: “Let’s change the message – we are proud to be law enforcers.
“I do not want the public to be surprised, I want them to be embarrassed when they get caught… They need to understand the law is set at the limit for a reason.
“They should not come whinging to us about getting caught. If booked at 35 or 34 or 33 [in a 30mph zone] that cannot be unfair because they are breaking the law.”
Current guidance suggests police forces should only issue penalties for drivers caught at 10% plus 2mph over the limit – 35mph in a 30mph zone, for example.
(PA Graphics)
Tory MP Sir Greg Knight warned against an “overly aggressive policy against drivers”, telling the paper: “It will make criminals of motorists who are basically good drivers trying to obey the speed limit, while keeping an eye on the road.”
A total of 1,710 people were killed on the roads in the year up to June 2017, according to the latest statistics.
Last year, figures obtained by the Press Association found only about half of fixed speed cameras in the UK were actually switched on and catching offenders.
Data released by 36 of the 45 police forces in the UK found that four have no fixed speed cameras at all and 13 have fewer than half actively catching speeding drivers.