Thousands snared after stealth drop in "speed limit" by 1mph in London

See a copy of the article in The Times.
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Copyright: The Times


Posted: 220929
An article in The Times by the transport editor Nicholas Hellen reports that "the Metropolitan Police's "speed tolerance" has been cut by 1mph triggering a 259% increase in the number of motorists being penalised for driving too fast. The tougher rules, quietly introduced, mean 347,000 drivers have been warned they will be prosecuted for speeding between January and June this year, compared with 97,000 in the six months before the change"

Driving at any speed over the official limit is an offence, but the National Police Chief's Council (NPCC) say drivers should be given some leeway. The guidelines say motorists should face no action unless they break the speed limit by 10% plus 2mph. So in a 20mph limit that is 24mph and on a 70mph road it is 79mph before they get a fixed penalty of go on a speed awareness course.

Other police forces including Lancashire still use the guideline of 10% plus 3mph so in a 20mph area their guideline limit would have been 25mph rather than 24mph. The change was made by the Met Police in May 2019 but the Times article says the Met did not announce the change. Many cab drivers in London have received a penalty and in some cases multiple penalties following the unannounced change.

The Metropolitan Police say "that if a pedestrian is hit by a vehicle at 20mph they are about 5 times less likely to be fatally injures than at 30mph". The type of vehicle that hits a pedestrian is also a factor - a hit by a "Chelsea tractor" would likely be more serious than a small car - and classic cars like MGBs and derivatives are much smaller, particularly on a relative size basis.