Traffic cops mete out instant justice

UK drivers can be fined for splashing pedestrians.

BRITISH POLICE HAVE IMPOSED ON-THE-SPOT PENALTY NOTICES FOR OFFENCES SUCH AS UNDERTAKING, LANE HOGGING AND SPLASHING PEDESTRIANS.

Motorists in the UK have been caught driving while reading work papers or maps, others used a road closed for repairs or raced at high speeds near pedestrians and schoolchildren.

The range of offences committed by motorists can be revealed in full with the publication of the first comprehensive set of figures showing the number of £100 on-the-spot fines which police officers can now levy for careless and inconsiderate driving.

At least 10,000 motorists have been fined for offences such as tailgating, hogging the middle lane and undertaking on the inside lane as part of a purge on "anti-social" driving, according to the new figures.

The majority of police forces around the country have taken advantage of new powers which allow officers to issue £100 penalty notices on the spot and add three points to motorists' licences for careless driving.

However, the figures also revealed what motoring groups described as a "postcode lottery" for drivers, with officers in some areas not using the new powers at all while others deploy them extensively.

The greatest number of £100 fines were issued by Police Scotland, who gave out 3252 penalty notices, followed by 1397 by the Metropolitan police, 621 by Nottinghamshire police and 608 in Gwent, South Wales.

By comparison, only three were issued by Durham police and Humberside issued just 12 tickets.

Forces such as South Wales, Dyfed-Powys and Essex confirmed that they did not issue tickets at all for careless driving, but preferred to prioritise driver education instead.

Professor Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation, backed the use of the on-the-spot fines, but said they had to be enforced consistently across the country. He said: "As with using mobiles at the wheel and drink-driving, it is not enough to outlaw anti-social behaviour on the roads.

"People need to believe they will get caught. These figures suggest that in several areas they won't. Ultimately you need consistent nationwide police enforcement proportionate with the level of death and injury these reckless actions cause."

In the first year of the reforms, drivers were penalised for a range of offences including performing wheel spins, pushing into queuing traffic, failing to give way at junctions, driving too close to the car in front, sitting in the middle lane on motorways and illegally undertaking.

-Telegraph Group Ltd