Limits, penalties and summons

The following is the most up to date information regarding all of the above.

You can find the APCO guidelines through this link.

National speed limits and Fixed penalty limits

Limit

Fixed Penalty

Summons

20 mph

25 mph

35 mph

30 mph

35 mph

50 mph

40 mph

46 mph

66 mph

50 mph

57 mph

76 mph

60 mph

68 mph

86 mph

70 mph

79 mph

96 mph

 

Fixed penalty notices are by far the most common type of fines in which 3 points and usually a £60 fine are issued.

If you receive a summons,  penalties given range from 3 – 6 points and fines from £100 – £1000 or up to £2500 on the motorway.   The amount you pay is means tested so the more you earn the more you may have to pay.

It is worth noting that these are guidelines not absolutes and are really used primarily for fixed speed cameras with no human element involved.  It can become a lot more complicated if caught by an actual police officer because the reality is if you’re travelling at 31mph in a 30mph zone he can still issue a fine if he/she wants to as it’s still an offence! Depending on your circumstances , say caught outside a school,  this may very well happen.

Driving bans

Limit

Chance of ban

30 mph

              Over 51 mph

40 mph

 Over 66 mph

50 mph

 Over 75 mph

60 mph

 Over 85 mph

70 mph

 Over100 mph

 

If you are in this bracket there is a greatly increased chance of a ban. The rule of thumb for consideration is any speed in excess of 45% of the speed limit set, so for a 70mph speed limit anything over 100mph is putting you at risk from a driving ban.