Lane Hoggers Face Fines

Careless drivers could face an on the spot fine of £100 Stephen Hammond road safety minister revealed yesterday. This will give the police more flexibility when it comes to dealing with minor careless driving offences like middle lane hogging or tailgating which previously had to go through the courts for anything to happen. As well as the cost for being caught carelessly driving other driving offences are also set to rise in fines such as not wearing a seatbelt or using a mobile phone which are going to equal the £100 fine for careless driving.

The introduction of the on the spot fine shows just how seriously they are taking careless driving offences by allowing police to give a fixed penalty rather than having to go through the gruelling process of bringing the offender to court. Hand in hand with the fixed penalty for careless driving there is also a three point deduction on your licence which many people feel is too harsh but after all careless driving can risk the lives of those in the car and other drivers. More serious offences will go to court which the driver could face higher fines.

There are no changes to parking offences but several other offences have been changed. This is the first time in 13 years that most of these traffic offences with fix penalties have not increased or changed at all, there’s also more incentive for drivers to attend courses to improve their driving and safety which is a longer term solution rather than a fine which is set to be introduced later this year with police being able to give their own discretion between courses and points/fines. Many are glad that lane hoggers will hopefully deplete in numbers and driving will be much less frustrating.

Having worked in the car rental industry for over 15 years, he really knows his stuff. Rob heads up our marketing department and as a keen traveller, always has a new location to talk about. Particularly if there is a golf course nearby.