Motorway middle-lane hoggers to face on-the-spot fines
5 June 2013 Last updated at 10:26
Comments (1703) [already!]
Middle-lane hogging traffic on a busy road Tailgating and middle-lane hogging will now incur fixed penalties
Motorway tailgaters and middle-lane hoggers are to face quick justice with on-the-spot penalties under new measures announced by the government.
From July, police will be able to issue £100 fines and three points for careless driving offences that would currently have to go to court.
The idea is to target offenders without the need for lengthy court procedures.
Current fixed penalties for using a phone while driving or not wearing a seatbelt will also rise by £40 to £100.
The move brings careless driving offences into line with the penalties for similar non-motoring fixed penalties. Drivers will still be able to appeal against any decision through the courts.
'Pet hates'
People guilty of careless driving will face fixed penalties or the chance to go on a driving course, but the more serious examples will continue to go through the courts, where offenders could face much higher fines and penalties.
Many offences currently go unpunished because of the bureaucracy involved in taking a case to court.
Analysis
image of Richard Westcott Richard Westcott BBC transport correspondent
The Department of Transport has not yet released official guidance on which types of driving will attract fines.
But police are expected to focus on situations involving slightly aggressive and inconsiderate driving, such as:
Driving too close to the vehicle in front
Failing to give way at a junction (not requiring evasive action by another driver)
Overtaking and pushing into a queue of traffic
Being in the wrong lane and pushing into a queue on a roundabout
Lane discipline, eg needlessly hogging the middle or outside lanes
Inappropriate speed
Wheel-spins, handbrake turns and other careless manoeuvres
Not only does a motorist have to be stopped by the police, but a summons has to be issued and evidence presented in court.
Road Safety Minister Stephen Hammond said: "Careless drivers are a menace and their negligence puts innocent people's lives at risk.
"That is why we are making it easier for the police to tackle problem drivers by allowing them to immediately issue a fixed penalty notice rather than needing to take every offender to court."
The AA said responsible drivers would welcome the changes.
"We are also pleased to see that at long last 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," said AA president Edmund King.
The RAC also welcomed an increase in fines to tackle the "plague" of mobile phone use.
RAC Foundation director Professor Stephen Glaister said: "Anti-social behaviour is as big a problem on the roads as it is in wider society.
"Giving police more discretion to act, and freeing up resources to allow them to do so by cutting procedural delays in court, is good news.
"Raising the fine level to £100 is justifiable to tackle the plague of handheld mobile phone use which slows drivers' reaction times even more than being at the drink-drive limit or taking cannabis."
Downplays the offence
Tim Shallcross, Institute of Advanced Motorists: ''For on-the-spot fines, you need on-the-spot policemen''
But the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) said it had concerns about the message sent out by the changes.
Its director of policy Neil Grieg said: "This is a major change in traffic law enforcement and the IAM is concerned that issuing fixed penalty tickets for careless driving downplays the seriousness of the offence.
"Careless covers a wide range of poor to reckless driving behaviour that often merits further investigation.
"This could free up traffic police time and allow them to maintain a higher profile.
"But without traffic cops out on the road to enforce this new approach it will have little impact on road safety."
Motoring journalist Quentin Willson also questioned whether there would be enough traffic police to make the changes work.
He said: "It's broadly to be welcomed because it marks a shift away from remote policing - that's cameras - to actually using traffic cops.
Motorists' views: "Just a money-making thing'' or "fair enough"?
"But the problem is the amount of traffic police cars has been cut since 1997 by 50%, so the obvious question is 'how do you enforce this?' It's deeply faulted."
Richard Owen from the research group Road Safety Analysis said most motorists would welcome the changes.
He told the BBC: "We already know that the UK's motorways are some of the safest roads in the country, if not Europe.
"But of course, that relies on everybody playing their part and sticking to the rules and I think most motorists would welcome any further enforcement to make sure that people aren't lane hogging or maybe tailgating."
Curious how the last comment stems from the Group of Companies benefiting from the whole Speed Camera Industry and the fundamental reason that the £100 has been promoted to the Government, is so that Courses are more favourable as people were preferring to pay up the £60, than take their (very profitable) course/s !!!
Regarding :
DoT wrote:
1 Driving too close to the vehicle in front
2 Failing to give way at a junction (not requiring evasive action by another driver)
3 Overtaking and pushing into a queue of traffic
4 Being in the wrong lane and pushing into a queue on a roundabout
5 Lane discipline, eg needlessly hogging the middle or outside lanes
6 Inappropriate speed
7 Wheel-spins, handbrake turns and other careless manoeuvres
I agree without enough police on the roads (well trained one's a good thing and delighted to see their return but they
must be properly trained or it will
continue to widen the large rift that exists already.
Generally with all of this we need education to encourage the right behaviour FIRST. And people who are tugged (unless they plan cameras for all of these issues !??
) may only need a bit of a ticking off than a ticket. Lets not forget this 'rush' of added fines and points will see more people driven off the road, so people who are already paranoid about cameras might now be even more fearful whenever they see any possible sighting of police potentially taking their livelihood away ... more 'easily'.
I thoroughly agree to more police but I'd like to see along side this some serious media promotion of 'good driving practices' too.
1- good but is this going to be 'just for a moment' seen by a copper or sustained and deliberate ?
2 - fair enough if enforced fairly but will likely see increases in car cams to help people prove their innocence...
3 - highly controversial and needs to be really clear on the wrong and right action/s. Since WHEN is overtaking a 'crime' ??? that is seriously worrying !
Are they wanting everyone to follow everyone else like little zombies ? Might lead to even greater tailbacks?
4 - non-sense - I can think of changing direction and other reasons to change where you are going. A new indication and alteration should NEVER be prosecutable !
5 - potentially very good and might really help to keep people in L1 and allow better traffic flow ... but people will be really 'confused' that things they have been doing for years incorrectly will now see them gain points and cost them a lot of money - not that 60 wasn't already 'enough'.
6 - for what and who ? very good or very bad. A policeman who has no further driving education and many, many that do, cannot always tell what might be 'inappropriate' - if this is driven by 'targets' then it will be an excuse to print money at the cost of road safety. But if this is applied carefully and responsibly then it might help those who do use speed badly to get a tug and some advice or dealt with accordingly.
7 - this could go as far as a clamp down on anything that isn't 'straight forward car control' and anything outside of it (if seen) condemned by law, but how do youngsters learn if not 'playing', so they will go 'underground'. For those who behave without (any) care though, then this could be very good.
Lets not forget that you currently (this will need to be changed !) can only attend one course in 3yrs and 12 points will see you banned (typically unless challenged in Court). The course people need drivers on the road to squeeze every penny from them. If their education was unbiased and sound then I would agree with it but much of it is twisted and wrong.
Given that during the last 20years of targeting motorists un-necessarily and even to the point of turning good drivers bad, as well as degrading road safety, I fear that this might be taken to extremes by some or many inexperienced police trying to return to police the roads. Over-zealous bosses too that have thought speed is a panacea to road safety, won't help either. I think it will help over time, when things settle down, but that is probably another 20years away.