A new report using Home Office data has revealed that there is a huge disparity across UK police forces on the likelihood of getting a speeding ticket cancelled.
The report, which was conducted by vehicle finance provider, Moneybarn, and published by thisismoney.co.uk found that those living in the City of London are most likely to be let off when given a fixed penalty notice, with three out of five drivers seeing their punishment downgraded. At the other end of the scale, drivers in North Wales are almost always likely to receive a fine if caught speeding, with a miserly 1.3% of offences shown leniency.
City of London drivers are clearly getting the best deal though, the Home Office statistics revealing that 62.6% of drivers get away with it, the next nearest on Moneybarn’s list was Cambridgeshire which saw 30.6 cancelled.
The old adage that money comes to money certainly appears to count in the cash-rich City of London district, home to the UK’s banking district and some of the country’s richest drivers. Though it may be that that area of the country knows the best cheats for avoiding paying a fine. The range of reasons for the fixed penalty notice being downgraded includes:
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The Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) had incorrect details about the nature, time or location of the alleged offence
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The alleged speeder wasn't driving when the offence took place
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The road signage for speed limits was missing or incorrect
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The speed measuring equipment had not been calibrated or was being misused.
Moneybarn’s report also shows which police forces issue the most fixed penalty notices, with Avon and Somerset racing ahead with 199,337 speeding fines, amazingly drivers in Gwent only saw a total of 242 fines during the period of April 2017 to March 2018. The Welsh county only has eight active speed cameras.