Motorists who exceed the speed limit by only a few miles per hour could find themselves in trouble after police announced a crackdown on speeders.
For years, authorities have allowed a small amount of leeway for drivers who might unwittingly exceed the limit by a small amount, but this could be set to change under the new approach.
Traditionally, police have allowed drivers a margin of error of 10 per cent plus 2mph of the speed limit, meaning that in a 50mph zone drivers could get away with 57mph before getting fined.
However, advancing technology which is making speed readings increasingly accurate could change that, with police chiefs saying that they want to cut the rising number of deaths and injuries on the roads.
Some police forces around the UK are now set to do away with the margin for error, meaning that more drivers could end up on the receiving end of fines and penalty points.
Scottish police have announced they’re due to abandon the discretionary allowance and will now issue any driver exceeding the limit by even 1mph with a warning.
If the driver is caught exceeding the limit again, they will received a £100 on-the-spot fine and have three points put on their licence, with tougher penalties for drivers exceeding it by a larger amount.
A spokesman for the National Police Chiefs’ Council said: “If you are over the limit, you are breaking the law and technology makes it easier to pinpoint exact speeds.”
It’s thought that this approach could also be rolled out to police forces across the rest of England and Wales, with the spokesman saying: “Enforcing speed limits is at the discretion of individual chief constables.”
However, safety campaigners fear that the clampdown could instead lead to drivers spending more time watching their speedometers than oncoming traffic on the road ahead.
AA president Edmund King said: “We need drivers to concentrate on what is on the road in front of them, not always looking at the speedo.
“If a driver strays over the limit by 2mph, they shouldn’t be, but it’s better they do that and stay focused on what is going on around them.”