A council has become the first in the country to hand out fines to Brits breaking 20mph speed limits.
Previously, only police could fine drivers for speeding, while councils could issue penalties for ‘moving traffic’ offences such as driving in the bus lane, or stopping in yellow boxes at junctions.
But Wandsworth Council in London has suffered a spate of complaints from residents about speeding drivers, with research in the area finding a quarter of drivers ignore the 20mph speed limit.
So they have decided to set up their own speed cameras in an eight-month pilot scheme focusing on two roads in the area.
Targeting drivers speeding on Wimbledon Park Road and Priory Road in Roehampton, the council will hit lawbreakers with a £130 fine - halved if paid within 14 days.
The council will utilise a civic enforcement scheme handing out Penalty Charge Notices, instead of the Fixed Penalty Notices used by police.
But the punishment won’t see any points given on licences or mandatory attendance to speed awareness courses.
The speed cameras are now up and running, and warning letters are due to be sent out to motorists who breach the limit. The first fines will then be dished out in the coming weeks.
Council leader Cllr Simon Hogg previously said: “Speeding traffic is one of the biggest sources of complaints we receive from our residents. Ensuring drivers stick to the 20mph limit not only improves safety levels and encourages more people to walk or cycle, it helps reduce harmful emissions too.
“Until now, only the Metropolitan Police have had powers to enforce speed limits, but they tend to concentrate their resources on main roads and dual carriageways, whereas most of the complaints we receive are about people driving too fast along quieter residential streets.
“Our pilot scheme will focus on two residential roads where excessive speeds are known to be an issue.
“If judged a success, we will look to make it permanent and carry out enforcement in other parts of the borough where we know vehicle speeds are excessive.”
Money raised by the speed cameras won’t go to the Treasury, but will be reinvested into local road safety initiatives.
Data released by the Department for Transport in 2018 showed that 86 per cent of journeys through a 20mph zone broke the speed limit.
RAC road safety spokesperson Simon Williams said: “One of the biggest complaints about 20mph limits is the fact they are rarely enforced which leads to poor compliance.
"This scheme, on two stretches of road which currently have far too many speeders, has the potential to dramatically improve compliance which has to be a positive road safety step.
“While the thought of councils beginning to enforce speed limits instead of the police may be worrying to some, it could be just what’s needed to make 20mph limits more effective.
"Arguably, fining people with penalty charge notices instead of immediately issuing fixed penalty notices and putting points on licences could be a fairer way of dealing with the problem, particularly as so many drivers tell us they find it hard to drive at 20mph."
He added: “We would, however, like to see those drivers who speed excessively referred to the police for prosecution as they present a much greater risk to pedestrian and cyclist safety.
"Consideration should also be given to those who regularly break the limit as it would be very wrong if more affluent drivers continued to disregard 20mph limits just because they can easily afford to pay the fines.”
