What is the Fine for Speeding?

The minimum fine for speeding in a motor vehicle is £100 and incur three points on your licence if its dealt with by conditional offer by the Police If the case proceeds to Court the fine can be up to a maximum of £2500 if its on a motorway.

 Speeding is dangerous and often causes accidents - with an estimated 1,560 deaths caused by road offences in 2021 - so government penalties are designed to be severe and cause you to take better care. The penalties for speeding are extensive and you may be banned from driving completely for a serious offence, so understanding them and avoiding any dangerous behaviours are very important.

 If you have been accused of speeding, the information in this guide will help you to understand the penalties that you could face, and may aid you in deciding what your next steps are.

The Process of Being Fined for Speeding

If you are caught speeding and the police decide to fine you, you will be informed of this by a Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) and a Section 172 through the mail. The NIP will contain information about your offence, while the Section 172 is a form that you are required to fill out, detailing the occupants of the vehicle, who was driving and other information relevant to the incident. In line with the Road Traffic Act 1988, this form must be returned to the police within 28 days of receiving it if you are the registered keeper, or you could be taken to court.

 Following this, you will receive either a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) which will instruct you to pay a fine, or a letter demanding that you attend court if the speed is too excessive or you have too many points on your licence. You can also receive either of these from the police directly after your incident if they stop you.

Pleading Guilty

If it is your first offence, you will be required to pay a £100 fine and three points will be added to your licence, which will stay on your licence for four years.If it is not your first offence, the point accumulation could take you over the 12-point limit, resulting in a driving ban. For drivers who are still within two years of passing their test, the limit is six points and if you exceed this, your licence will be revokedand you will need to pass another driving test before you can legally drive again.

 In some cases, you could be given an alternative option to attend a speed awareness course, but this will not be applicable if you attended one within the past three years or the speed does not fall within the parameters at the discretion of the Police.

Pleading Not Guilty

If you receive a fixed penalty notice and plead not guilty - which you can do by following the instructions on the ticket - you will be required to go to court. To succeed in this approach,you will require the assistance of a legal professional who can represent you, and you will need to provide sufficient evidence to argue that you are not guilty of the offence. For speeding tickets, this can be very difficult to achieve.

 If you fail and the court decides you are guilty, it could suspend or permanently revoke your licence and fine you up to £1,000, or £2,500 if your offence was committed on a motorway. Obviously, this is significantly more than the £100 cost of a fine, so you should consider whether it is worth taking the risk before contesting a speeding conviction.

Should I Contest my Speeding Fine?

With high stakes for failure, it can be difficult to decide whether or not to contest a speeding ticket. If you are unsure, or are planning on pleading not guilty and need legal advice about the potential impact of this, you should seek the help of the expert motoring offence solicitors at JMW. 

Our firm has been recognised as one of the top in the country by the Legal 500, and our motoring offences department is large and full of experienced solicitors. We can provide you with advice on what you should do following the notice that you are being prosecuted, explaining any queries you may have about confusing legal jargon, and represent you throughout the process, including in court, if necessary. 

If you have been accused of speeding and are unsure what to do, do not leave it up to chance. Seek help from the legal experts at JMW today by calling 0345 872 6666 or filling out an online contact form.