A recent surbvey by insurance company LV reveals that more motorists than ever were caught speeding last year, with the worst offender caught doing 152mph. The total number of speeding offences in 2011 rose by 6% compared with the previous 12 months according to the report.

The biggest offender was caught doing 152mph speedster by Sussex Police, while an offender was stopped by Tayside Police doing 149mph and a driver in the Thames Valley Police area was doing 142mph. According to data from the 36 police forces who responded, there were 955,459 speeding offences in 2011 – up from 899,934 in 2010.

In a separate survey of motrorists by LV, since 2009, 9% had been caught speeding and 17% of these have been caught more than once. The survey showed that 71% could not name the speed limit on a rural road, single carriageway, dual carriageway, motorway or a road in a built-up area.

When shown photographs of different road situations, 33% could not correctly identify the 60mph speed limit for a single carriageway and 52% did not know the speed limit on a rural road without street lights.

In terms of the national speed limit, 30% believed that the 70mph speed limit is too slow, with over 60% welcoming the proposal to increase the limit to 80mph. Over 40% say they routinely break the current 70mph limit when they think they can get away with it. However, as may be expected, Government proposals to increase speeding fines from £60 to £100 were not welcomed, with 40% seeing the increase as an unfair tax.

Football manager Tony Pulis has kept his licence, despite doing over 90mph in a 60mph zone. The ruling has infuriated some motorists who claim that this is further evidence that there is one rule for the rich and famous who can afford expensive lawyers, and another for the orrdinary motorist.
Pulis’s lawyer claimed that if he was banned from driving that this would have a detrinmental effect on a great number of people and that it could even lead to his club, Stoke City, being relegated from the Premier League. In fact his club stand 14 points clear of the relegation zone and relegation is extremely unlikely. The lawyer claimed it would have a detrimental effect on the club, it’s supporters and many local businesses as well as several charities that Pulis supports. The incident happened after his team had been handed a 5-0 drubbing by relegation candidates Bolton. Pulis also claimed that he couldn’t have a chauffeur in case he overheard secret transfer negotiaitons.
Reaction from ordinary motorists towards this case has not been favourable – some have pointed out that three teams will be relegated whatever happens with all the associated difficulties that causes. Others see it as laughable that a football manager cannot have a chauffeur, when government ministers and bosses of stock exchange quoted companies can.
Commentors on Yahoo have described it as “proof that the British law is corrupt”, “its nothing short of criminal” and “another example of the power of money”

In the past Uk insurance companies seemed to look on first time speeding offenders with benign indifference. Suprisingly so! On the whole, people getting caught for the first time for speeding and having just 3 points on their licence didn’t sdeem to see an increase in their premiums. That looks like it could be all set to change.
The Telegraph reports that latest survey figures indicate that people with 3 points for speeding are likely to see their premium increase by between 10 and 22 per cent depending on their age. Drivers over 40 have seen a 10 per cent increase on average, while 20 year olds have seen a 22 per cent increase.
This could be seen as a move to further penalize mororists for speeding offences or a cynical ploy to increase premiums and thus boost sagging profits.
At the same time, motorists caught using their mobile phone which also carries a 3 point penalty, are likely to be far more seriously penalized by their insurers – these motorists can see their premiums increased by up to 60 per cent. In fact some insurers refuse to quote for motorists convicted of using their phone while driving. An Aviva spokesman says “We want to get the message across that mobile phone usage is absolutely not acceptable”
With all these premium hikes, it might be tempting to not declare them to your insurer. However, failure to disclose this type of information will invalidate your insurance, so should be avoided.

Biker Peter Clarke from Lincolnshire has been banned for 18 months after being caught doing 1565mph on the A1 in Cambridgeshire. He was clocked by a police motorcycle from which he was filmed during a short pursuit. In addition to receiving an 18 month ban he was fined £1,000 ordered to pay costs of £1,000 as well as a £15 victim surcharge.

The jury at Peterborough Crown Court found him guilty of dangerous driving, a claim which the defendant rejected as he said he was in control of the bike all the time and that he was an experienced rider and his bike was built to be driven at speed.

This was clearly not a case of going a little over the speed limit. Unfortunately, at such high speeds the ability to react to unexpected problems and the actions or mistakes of others is significantly affected. The rider clearly had no idea who was behind him (the police motorcyclist) and if the road users in front of him were equally careless as he was about to overtake them, a fatal accident could have resulted.

A retired computer engineer from Lymm is one of three drivers at the High Court seeking to overturn his conviction on the basis that the speed camera used to catch him speeding have never received parliamentary approval.

The retired computer engineer was caught doing 52mph in a 40mph zone in Manchester.

He denies that he was speeding and says the recording was wrong. The case went to Manchester Crown Court in 2009 when his appeal was dismissed but now he has taken the case to the High Courtt.

The outcome of the case could have major repercussions with regards to the conviction of thousands of other motorists who have been fined having been caught by similar speeding devices.

As the long running saga of Chris Huhne’s alleged speeding offence in 2003 rumbles on, he has found himself in the position of needing to resign from the cabinet. The Lib Dem former cabinet minister still protests his innocence despite the fact that the Director of Public Prosecutions has decided that there is enough evidence to bring charges of perverting the course of justice. The case will be heard at Westminster Magistartes Court later this month.

The central claim to the charges is that it is alleged that Chris Huhne arranged for someone else to say that they were driving his vehicle at the time of an alleged speeding offence in 2003. Both Mr Huhne and his former wife Vicki Pryce who claimed that she was driving, will be in court in February to face the charges. If found guilty Mr Huhne may well face a spell in jail. If acquitted it is likely thyat he will be invited back into the cabinet.

A fraudster who got hundreds of people illegally off their speeding tickets has been jailed for 7 years. Colin Lowndes set up an operation where people would pass him their Notice of Intended Prosecution and he would complete them with fictitious names and addresses. The fictitious motorists were then fined, but when bailiffs sought to enforce the fines they would find that there was no one living at the address. The scam enabled Lowndes to live a lavish lifestyle including a rented Porsche.

Lowdnes, 41 also kept meticulous records of his transactions. This was bad news for those who had passed him his NIPs. Some 250 people have been arrested and some have been given jail terms or suspended sentences. During the investigation, police officers also discovered that he was involved in an extensive credit card fraud.

Camebridgeshire County Council have adopted an idea from Australi in an effort to cut speeding amongst the county’s young men.

The campaign is called ‘Speeding: no-one thinks big of you’focuses on information, advice and discussion on the road safety team’s Facebook page and Twitter feed.

The campaign features posters depicting young females waving their little fingers, ‘pinkies’, at guys who are speeding or driving dangerously to show off. The message is that young girls are not impressed by young men who speed. The campaign differs from many other campaigns which graphically depict the consequences of speeding and dangerous driving

The Sun newspaper has compiled a list of the top ten earning speed cameras. Top of the list is a temporary speed camera on the A1(M) in Hertordshire. The camera is located on the southbound carriageway between junctions 4 and 3. The camera has captured on average 789 drivers each month. Based on a fixed penalty fine of £60, this would raise in excess of £½ million per year.

The second highest earning speed camera is located at Anglesea Road in Portsmouth (part of the A3), which caught an average of 537 motorists a month, which works out at an estimated £387,000 per year.

The A40 Western Avenue in London was the third highest earner with 499 speeding motorists per month having to pay an estimated £359,000 in speeding fines.

The lowest earning speed trap is on the A348 in Ferndown, Dorset, which caught hasn’t caught a single vehicle speeding in three years. Either this is a badly located camera or it’s doing its job very well at ensuring that motorists adhere to the speed limit.
The most perilous route for avoiding speed fines is a 12 mile stretch of road along the seafront in Brighton which is lined with 11 cameras that caught over 18000 drivers in three years.

How much revenue do UK speed cameras raise?
The UK has approximately 6,000 speed cameras, which generate around £100m a year in speeding tickets.

Ian Brown of the band Stone Roses narrowly escaped a driving ban, being awarded 6 points and a £650 fine.

The singer was clocked at 105mph on the northbound M6 in April 2011. Brown was represented by well known speeding lawyer Nick Freeman who claimed that a driving ban would make it difficult to see his son whoi lived in London and to get to rehearsals for the band’s upcoming tour. He was clocked doing 105 mph by a following police car. Foolishly the singer had declined roadside a “fixed penalty notice” which would have saved him a lot of bother. This is apparently Brown’s second speeding offence, the first some years ago has expired from his licence which was for three penalty points.