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The UK has an abundance of road laws, and if you’re a driver on the UKs roads then chances you have at some point fell fowl of one of them. Surprisingly most of the UKs drivers are not actually aware of what they are being charged with and why when they are stopped. In this article, you will find a short list of the most widespread traffic offences, shedding light on the details and penalties you can look forward to for some of the more frequent motoring offences.

Excessive Speed: The actual offence here is defined as ‘Driving on a road exceeding the prescribed speed limit’. This offence carries a 60 fine and three points on your driving licence. The maximum penalty here is 1000 and 6 points on your licence depending on the speed you were doing. If you are caught driving at more than 30 miles above the set limit you can expect a ban.

If caught speeding and you are offered a fixed penalty, usually 60, then you are almost certainly best off simply paying the fine and accepting the points as any court appearance will most likely result in a larger fine or even a ban. If you do decide to challenge a speeding fine, then potential reasons to do so include: You were simply not speeding, it wasn’t you driving or that you were driving an exempt vehicle due to emergency.

Failing to stop: This crime is clear; ‘A driver of a mechanically propelled means of transport in attendance when a road traffic accident occurred where personal injury or damage was caused to another person and or vehicle’. Further to this, if you also fail to stop after injuring an animal not in the vehicle or properties on or near the road and fail to stop then you break the above law. Penalties for this type of offence are strict, with at least 6 months in jail and a fine of a 5000 likely.

Motorway speeding: if you are caught exceeding the national speed limit in the UK on a motorway then the maximum penalty is a fine of 2500 and six driving licence points. If you a caught in excess of 100mph then the probably outcome is a ban coupled with the fine.

If you have been given a Drink Driving Ban, then visit Freeman Keep On Driving expert Driving Solicitors.

It has materialised that a new speed camera erected on a road where there has been just one severe accident in over ten years, has brought in over 1.3m pound in profits from speeding motorists per year. It has been daubed Britain’s most lucrative speed camera and has been named and shamed by an angry local community.

With the average cost of a speeding fine now reaching 60 the camera has earned 1,327,140 each year. This means that the ‘most lucrative’ camera in Britain has on average captured 1,843 motorists each and every month.

The camera can be found in Poole, Dorset where it was erected to catch motorists jumping red lights on a 30mph stretch of road on a dual carriageway. However, back in November last year the camera became one of the first in the country to be converted to catch unaware motorists speeding through the lights when they were on Green.

Official statistics show that only one serious accident has taken place on this road in over ten years with no fatalities. This has led to fears by motoring groups who are concerned that the only reason the camera has been converted is to ‘milk the motorist’, they also believe the low 30mph speed limit on a dual carriageway that usually commands a 40mph limit adds to the high number of issued tickets.

As a result of the cameras positions, the low speed limit and the fact it works regardless of green or red lights, drivers who thought they were driving legally have been caught travelling just a few miles over the limit. The road the camera is situated upon is a wide dual carriageway, with an industrial estate on one side, and a harbour on the other. The revenue generated by this one camera dwarfs the amount generated by other cameras, delivering evidence that something is seriously wrong with the setup.

In May this year a temporary Camera at road works on the A1139 in Peterborough was issuing an average of 3000 tickets per month, netting over 3.2m per year.

If you have been given a Drink Driving Ban, then visit Freeman Keep On Driving expert Driving Offence Solicitors.

Eight policemen in three police cars have made an arrest of a man driving after consuming three times the legal drink driving limit. The man was pulled over as he made his way home from a local pub, on his mobility scooter.

The pensioner, travelling at around 4mph on a pavement close to his Chesterfield home was surrounded by the policemen when he failed to stop. One policeman thought it necessary to mount the pavement with his vehicle to prevent the pensioner from continuing his journey whilst another took his keys.

The disabled pensioner, who has the scooter thanks to blocked arteries in his legs, was pulled over after an evening playing dominoes with his friends and had consumed around six or seven pints before setting off home.

He was kept in police cells for 12 hours, fingerprinted and had his DNA taken. Mr Donohoe commented “Anybody would think that I was a bank robber or a member of Al-Qaeda, I can’t believe how they treated me”.

He continued; “They must have known, like I did, that the rules of the road don’t apply when you’re riding a mobility scooter down the pavement at three and a half miles an hour, but it didn’t seem to matter one jot.”I didn’t stop at first because I wanted to get home, and I wasn’t doing anything wrong.”

Mr Donohoe was found to be three times over the legal UK drink driving limit after he failed a roadside breath test. He has been banned from driving; however he has not been banned from driving his mobility scooter as it is not actually classed as car.

There have recently been several publicised drink driving cases, the most high profile being Welsh rugby star Andy Powell, convicted after driving a golf buggy down the motorway, while a milkman was recently convicted for being drunk whilst driving a milk float.

If you have been convicted of Speeding, then visit Freeman Keep On Driving expert Speeding Solicitors.

There were 11,000 recorded drink and drug related vehicle incidents in the UK in 2008. 1 in ten road deaths are caused by drunk drivers with 269 of these being a direct result of drivers being found over the limit.

Brake, which is a road safely charity has conducted some research into drunk driving related statistics. The findings have revealed that that up to 14 per cent of drink related accidents have been caused by what is regarded as ‘at work’ drivers. An at work driver is one that has commuted to or from a work based event where alcohol has been consumed during or after, resulting in the driver being over the limit when getting back behind the wheel.

These drivers admitted to consuming three or more units of alcohol before taking control of a vehicle. This is compared to just 6 per cent of other drivers on the road. A statistic that sees double the number of at work drivers acting irresponsibly.

The findings are targeted toward aiding managers and company bosses into thinking more about the role they play in ensuring that their employees do not drink drive the next time an event takes place. The usual procedure for these events is after a day of meetings the attendees generally wind down by consuming some form of alcoholic drink.

It is of course the responsibility of the individual to retrain themselves with regards to alcohol consumption; however the managers can play a role in organizing public transport to and from the event, and even allowing the employee the morning off work the day after the event.

Brake is doing its bit by launching a new campaign called ‘Face Facts’. Posters and e-guides are available to assist managers in alerting company drivers of the risks of drunk driving.

If you have been convicted of speeding, then visit Freeman Keep On Driving Road Traffic Solicitors.

25 passengers were on board a double decker bus, ran by Blustar when it was pulled over on suspicion that the driver was thought to have been drunk driving.

25 passengers were on board the double decker bus, ran by Blustar at the time of the incident. The passengers onboard included children and elderly people when the police pulled over the vehicle before breathalysing and then arresting the driver for drunk driving.

One shocked passenger who does not want to be named commented: “We couldn’t hear the police officers after they had stormed in and were talking to the driver. We all panicked but did not know what to think. We just didn’t have a clue what was happening when we saw the blue flashing lights.”

One passenger travelling on the bus said: “We just didn’t have a clue what was happening when we saw the blue flashing lights. We all panicked but did not know what to think. We couldn’t hear the police officers after they had stormed in and were talking to the driver.

The driver was immediately detailed by the arresting officers and Bluestar dispatched a replacement driver who arrived to take control of the bus within minutes. Public relations manager at Blustar Chris Harris said because of the serious nature of the incident the employee was suspended immediately.

He went on to say: “It is a strict rule that all Bluestar employees are required to be completely sober at all times when on duty; the consumption of alcohol while on duty or reporting for duty while under the influence of alcohol is expressly forbidden. ”

It is important that companies such as Bluestar act quickly in response to drink driving allegations in order to reassure customers and take potentially dangerous drivers off the road. The safety of passengers aboard Blustar vehicles is paramount to their operations, so it is important to reassure passengers through swift response to issues such as this one that they are willing to do what is necessary to ensure safety.

The driver in question has been bailed until later in the year.

If you have been convicted of drink driving and been given a Driving Ban, then visit Freeman Keep On Driving expert Road Traffic Solicitors.