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.

Exceeding the speed limit: The fault here is plainly defined as ‘Driving on a road travelling at a speed greater than the limit’. This offence carries a 60 fine and three points on your driving licence. The maximum penalty for this offence is 1000 and 6 points on your licence depending on the speed you were doing, however the majority of fines are 60, with 3 points. A ban can be expected if you are caught travelling at 30mph above the speed limit.

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 after an accident: The offence here is being a driver of a mechanically propelled vehicle in the presence of which 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, understandably for these offences can be severe, with 6 months in prison and or a fine not exceeding 5000 likely. However If you can satisfy the Court that you were unaware that an accident had occurred this may be a defence to the charge.

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.

Britain’s most lucrative speed camera has been named and shamed, and the local community is furious. It has emerged that a new speed camera erected on a road where there has been just one serious accident in over ten years, has netted over 1.3m pound in revenue from speeding motorists per year.

The controversial camera, which has been described as one of the most lucrative in Britain, has captured on average 1,843 motorists per month. And with the average fine for speeding 60, that equates to 1,327,140 each year.

The cameras location is Poole in Dorset on a 30mph section of road on a dual carriageway. The camera was initially erected to catch motorists jumping the red lights nearby; however the camera has since been converted to also trigger when motorists speed through the green light and is one of the first in the country to do so.

There has been only one serious accident on the road in over ten years, even so the camera was converted prompting fears from motoring groups that the camera was merely converted in order to ‘milk the motorist’ and catch unaware drivers who may only be going a mile or two above the limit. Furthermore, the 30mph limit on the stretch of road is said to be to low for a dual carriageway, with he limit on this type of road usually 40.

The resulting low speed, the cameras position and the fact it has been converted to ‘catch all’ has led to such high volumes of issued tickets. The stretch of road the camera is on is a wide dual carriageway, with a harbour on one side and an industrial estate on the other with no residential home nearby. The income this camera is generating is well above normal, signifying something is seriously wrong.

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 man was pulled over when he failed to stop after being ‘blue lighted’ by police. Police then took further action which resulted in one car mounting the pavement to block the driver’s path. Only then were police able to seize the vehicles keys.

Eamonn Donohoe, 62 of Chesterfield was travelling at around 4mph on a pavement near his home when police surrounded him, preventing him from completing his journey home. Mr Donohoe, who is disabled due to blocked arteries in his lower legs, was pulled over after spending a pleasant evening at his local pub playing dominoes with friends. He had consumed around six or seven pints before leaving for 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”.

Mr Donohoe 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 given a roadside breath test, to which he failed and was found to be three times over the UK limit for drunk driving. As a result of the arrest he was banned from driving, however, as his mobility scooter was not classed as a car, he is still able to drive it, which leads to the question of why he was arrested in such dramatic fashion in the first place.

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 from the research should get managers thinking about the role they play and the responsibilities they have to their employees the next time an event, ceremony or marketing conference or other ‘off site’ event is organized. Many of our UK workforces have attended such an event, where the common procedure is to consume alcohol after the meeting or event is wrapped up.

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.

A new campaign is due to be launched by Brake called face facts , the aim is to assist managers in making sure drivers are aware of drink driving risks.

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

Passengers on board a Blustar-run bus have spoken of their shock after the driver of the vehicle was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.

The bus, which had 25 passengers including children and the elderly at the time the police, pulled over the double decker before breathalysing the driver and then arresting him 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 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.”

After the driver had been detained by police, the company sent over a replacement drive that arrived within minutes. Chris Harris, public relations manager at Blustar said because of the serious nature of the incident the employee was suspended immediately.

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

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. 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 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.