Larger Fines For Speed Camera Dodgers

Fines levied on motorists who obscure their number plates are to double from £30 to £60 next February, the UK Government has announced.

The higher charges, designed to penalise drivers who deliberately seek to avoid detection by speed cameras and automatic number plate recognition cameras used by police, were welcomed by motoring organisations yesterday.

Foreign drivers who commit licence plate or seatbelt offences will be hit with a higher on-the-spot penalty of £60 in order to close the loophole that allowed them to escape prosecution in UK courts.

Mike Penning, the UK Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport, said the new penalty levels would ensure that the law was enforced “fairly and proportionately”.

He said: “Vehicles without a registration plate or with the plate obscured help law-breakers to avoid detection, so it is important that proportionate penalties are in place to deter offenders. Updating the legislation today will make sure the penalties for all registration plate offences are consistent,” he said.