Will I get a ticket for driving 10% above the speed limit? Driving laws explained

NAVIGATING UK speeding laws can be tricky, especially with the widely discussed “10% plus 2” rule.

Here is everything you need to know about the rule and how much you could get fined.

Can you get fined for speeding 10% above the limit?

Although police are recommended to give drivers leeway, it isn’t guaranteed that you’ll get away with speeding 10 percent above the limit.

There is no specific amount of mph that you can go over by as drivers are meant to firmly stick to the restrictions – meaning you can be fined for going even just 1mph over.

The Metropolitan Police cut its “speed tolerance” back in May 2019 but did not publicly announce it – seeing a string of drivers get stung.

Under the previous rules, cops set the prosecution threshold for speeders at 10 per cent of the speed limit plus 3mph.

This meant that those driving under 25mph in a 20 zone would not face action.

However, new guidance has reduced this to 10 per cent plus 2mph, cutting the boundary to 24mph in a 20 zone.

Other police forces still use the ‘plus 3mph’ formula but the National Police Chiefs Council says it intends to review national rules.

However,  by road assistance service Royal Automobile Club (RAC) concluded that there is a very small limit that authorities sometimes close an eye to.

It showed that speed cameras will go off if you are driving 10% above the limit, plus 2mph.

Sarah Lewis, a spokesperson for the AA said: “There used to be an unwritten rule that as long as you are driving within approximately 10 per cent of the speed limit, you would be unlikely to be handed a fixed penalty or speed awareness course.

“Ultimately it would be down to the discretion of the police force but it would be unusual for someone to be booked at 32mph.”

Words like unlikely and unusual indicate that while plenty of people would let you off, that doesn’t always happen.

Sarah continued: “The idea that there is an allowance of around 10 per cent of the speed limit stems from general guidance for enforcement to account for the inaccuracies of some speedometers.

“We wouldn’t normally expect to see somebody penalised for driving a couple of miles per hour either side of the limit. However, that’s not to condone speeding and this shouldn’t be used as an excuse to habitually exceed the limits.”

The UK Government announced that from summer 2022, all new cars will be required to be fitted with a speed limiter.

What are the penalties if you’re caught speeding?

If you believe you’ve been flashed by a speed camera, there will be a 14-day wait to get that confirmed.

A notice of intended prosecution is sent to the registered owner of the vehicle, and for minor offences, police will often offer the chance to take a speed awareness course instead of issuing fines and penalty points.

Although you have to pay for the course, and it usually takes up half a day, it keeps your license clean.

Those who already have points on their license, or have committed more serious speeding offences, will get a minimum £100 fine and three or six penalty points on their license.

The penalty can be as high as £1,000, or £2,500 if you were caught on a motorway.

If you collect 12 points or more in a three-year period, you may be disqualified from driving – and you will have to wait four years before applying to have points removed.

The minimum penalty for speeding is a £100 fine and three penalty points on your licence.

This is what you are likely to pay in less serious cases when a fixed penalty notice is sent by post or handed to you at the roadside.

Magistrates can impose much higher fines and ban drivers from the road if appropriate, for example if the speed is so high it is considered dangerous.