The rules around breaking the speed limit have been changed in a so-called ‘stealth’ move that could see thousands of drivers face fines.
The Met Police has slashed its speed tolerance by 1mph, triggering a reported 259 per cent increase in the number of drivers who will be punished for breaking the speed limit.
Driving at any speed over the limit is illegal but police guidelines previously stipulated that drivers should be given some leeway.
Guidelines used the formula that motorists wouldn’t face action unless they broke the speed limit by ten per cent plus 3mph until the tolerance by the Met Police was quietly dropped to ten per cent plus 2mph.
Under the ten per cent plus 3mph rule you could drive 25mph in a 20mph zone before facing punishment.
Under the Met Police's change, a motorist in a 20mph limit can now expect to get away with driving at 24mph before they receive a fixed penalty or are sent on a speed awareness course.
Around 347,000 drivers have been warned they will be prosecuted for speeding in the first six months of 2022.
This compares to only 97,000 people in the second half of 2021, the Times reports.
The Met Police reduced its speed tolerances from a formula of ten per cent plus 3mph over the limit on May 14, 2019, but never announced the change.
When asked over the change, the force was reported as saying: “Posted speed limits are the maximum speed that road users should travel at any time ... irrespective of the speed threshold that police commence enforcement action.”
However the change only applies to the Met Police and other forces such as Lancashire Police, still use the ‘plus 3mph’ formula.
However, despite this enforcement across the country could become stricter with the National Police Chiefs Council saying they intended to review its guidance.
Steve McNamara, general secretary of the Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association, said the changes had had a huge effect on taxi drivers who were being caught breaking the law more frequently.
