Why motorists face £100 fines for driving 1mph over the limit

Speeding motorists could soon face £100 fines if caught driving 1mph over the speed limit in a plan designed to reduce the number of fatal road accidents.

Police chiefs are calling for an end to the so-called “buffer zone” that allows drivers to travel just over the speed limit without receiving a penalty, The Daily Telegraph reports.

The zone is calculated by increasing the limit by 10% and adding 2mph, the newspaper says. A driver travelling at 34mph on a road with a 30mph limit, for example, would not be fined.

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But in a paper addressed to the National Police Chiefs Council, chief constable Anthony Bangham argues that the buffer zone gives drivers the impression that it’s “ok to speed”, the Daily Mail reports.

“We need to change our messaging and ensure greater consistency of approach when dealing with those who exceed the speed limit”, he wrote.

Bangham proposes a zero-tolerance policy towards speeding, where drivers would be handed a £100 fine for exceeding the limit by just 1mph.

Calls for a crackdown on speeding drivers are thought to be a reaction to the 4% increase in fatal accidents between 2015 and 2016.

Bangham’s ideas for a tougher stance towards speeding drivers have been welcomed by the road safety charity Brake. The charity says that the existing speed enforcement guidance, the 10% plus two rule, gives drivers the impression that “travelling above the speed limit is acceptable.”

But a spokesperson for the National Police Chiefs Council said there were currently no proposals to introduce a zero-tolerance policy as it would be “neither proportionate or achievable”.

The spokesperson did say that speed enforcement guidelines established in 2011 were currently under review, the results of which would be considered by all chief constables “before any action is taken.”