Lawyer debunks speed camera myth as 'legal tolerance is zero'

Drivers have been warned not to be taken in by a common myth about how speed cameras work. A legal expert says people are often shocked to get a penalty notice through their letterbox because they get the rules wrong.

Shazia Ali, founder of Scardsale Solicitors, reminded motorists that it's important to comply with the speed limits, as the consequences can be severe. She said: "Under the Road Traffic New Drivers Act 1995, people in their first two years of driving face an automatic revocation of their licence if they accumulate six penalty points."

"For more experienced motorists, accumulating 12 points via 'totting-up' results in a ban." To help drivers protect their licences and stay on the road, Ms Ali has cleared up three misconceptions about how the UK road traffic laws work.

Zero tolerance policy

One of the most widespread beliefs is that you can get away with driving slightly above the speed limit, which is commonly quoted as 10 per cent plus 2mph. So if you go past a camera in a 30mph zone driving at no more than 35mph, you should be okay.

But Ms Ali said this idea of a speeding buffer is pure fiction. She said: "As a matter of law, the legal tolerance for speeding in the UK is zero."

She said this '10 per cent plus two' idea comes from policy enforcement guidelines, as set out by the National Police Chiefs' Council. The idea of this policy is to help officers show discretion and to account for any mechanical variances with older camera equipment.

What the law says

But drivers should steer clear of relying on this leeway when they are on the road. Ms Ali said the law is plain: "The primary speeding offence is governed by Section 89 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, which dictates that exceeding the speed limit by any margin constitutes an offence."

As such, the guidelines that the policy follow hold "no statutory weight". Ms Ali said: "Police forces remain entirely within their legal rights to prosecute drivers travelling at 31 mph in a 30 mph zone, with several forces having already adopted stricter enforcement stances."

New research from OOONO recently looked at several popular driving routes across the UK to see which ones have the most speed cameras. The research found that 63 per cent of motorists spoken to said they had received a speeding ticket after not realising they had gone past a speed camera.