£100 fine for new careless driving offences

25th July 2013

Changes are being introduced this month that will give the police powers to issue fixed penalty notices for careless driving.

The fine will be £100 plus three points on the driver’s licence, but educational training will be offered as an alternative to endorsement.  Drivers will still be able to appeal any decision in court.

Road Safety Minister Stephen Hammond said the changes were intended to give the police greater flexibility in dealing with less serious offences – such as tailgating or middle lane hogging – and free them from resource-intensive court processes.

The most serious examples will continue to go to court, where offenders may face higher penalties.  There are no changes to penalty levels for parking offences.

In addition, however, existing fixed penalties for most motoring offences – including using a mobile phone at the wheel and not wearing a seatbelt – will rise to £100.

Edmund King, the AA’s president, said he was “pleased to see at long last that new powers and fines will be given to the police to tackle the top three pet hates of drivers – tailgaters, mobile phone abusers and middle lane hogs.

“An increase in the standard motoring fixed penalty fine will help deter those who commit motoring offences including mobile phone use.  AA members broadly support an increase in the level of the fixed penalty.  They also fully support educational training as an alternative to penalty points.”