Fines doubled for the smallest motoring offences

With ever-present speed cameras meaning that drivers going just a couple of miles per hour over the speed limit are hit with several points on their licences and parking attendants all too happy to give out tickets in pursuit of their weekly targets, it can often be all too easy to have sympathy with the view that British drivers are being wrung dry financially as local authorities look to make as much money as possible from on-the-road discrepancies.

However, there are still a large number of drivers who continue to bring the fines upon themselves, often through failing to comply with even the simplest rules of the road.

For example, few sensible drivers are likely to kick up a fuss over the news that the government has decided to introduce harsher penalties for those motorists caught not wearing a seatbelt while behind the wheel.

From this week, the offence will carry a fine of £60, which, though double the previous amount, still seems relatively lenient when it is considered that official figures show that one person a day dies on the UK roads as a result of not wearing a seatbelt.

Indeed, as the latest road safety campaign being rolled out through various media over the next few weeks will point out, even at low speeds, failing to be belted up can result in serious injuries in the event of an accident.

Announcing the start of the road safety push, Home Office minister Alan Campbell explained: "This is not about taking money from motorists, it's about doing all we can to keep the public safe on our roads.

"By increasing the fixed penalty, we are sending a clear message to motorists that we will crack down on them if they are caught failing to take this vital safety precaution."

Meanwhile, drivers who attempt to personalise their number plates, for example through non-regulation fonts and spacing, are also set to face a summer of tougher policing, with forces across the country planning on using speed camera technology to catch drivers who place vanity before legality and hit them with fines of £60 – again a doubling of the previous amount levied.

Despite these good intentions, new figures released north of the border suggest that many drivers will be only too happy to ignore this latest advice and carry on risking their lives, and the lives of other motorists and pedestrians, through their recklessness.

According to the statistics from Lothian and Borders Police, more than £1 million has been raked in since they were given the power to seize the vehicles of drivers caught without a licence or car insurance, with the force's chief constable stating that he is "disappointed" that many drivers have failed to heed warnings, though he still believes that a number of lives have already been saved as a result of tougher policing.