Insight
£1m fines missed and 50,000 penalty points evaded in cancelled speeding fines in Northern Ireland
A legal loophole has cost the PSNI over £1million pounds in lost revenue and nearly 50,000 penalty points have been evaded.
UTV has revealed how thousands of speeding drivers are evading prosecution due to their vehicle being registered outside the UK.
The figures over the last five years show 16,000 drivers have avoided prosecution since 2018.
Every time a speeding offence is cancelled that costs at least £60 in lost fines.
That is the equivalent to £967,440 in fines going uncollected.
On top of the fine an offender levy of £5 is applied to every offence detected.
That would equate to a further £80,620 being lost.
PSNI’s Head of Road Policing Superintendent Gary Busch explained: “If a foreign driver decides not to pay the fixed penalty notice, there is currently no mechanism to permit lawful postal service of a summons thereby bringing them before a Northern Ireland court.
“Fixed Penalty Notices may be issued to drivers who do not hold a Northern Ireland driving licence, a driving record will be created and held by the DVA and penalty points may be added to this record.”
The rules, however differ if a driver is stopped by a police officer.
Supt Busch said: "Legislation also permits police to take a financial deposit from non-UK offenders, who commit a driving offence – this means, if police detect a non-UK or Northern Ireland resident speeding, they can be arrested and brought to a custody suite, where they will then be required to leave a surety before being released.”
Road Safety Campaigner Peter Dolan said “in the climate we are in at the minute £1million to be pumped in would be worthwhile.
“As a road safety campaigner would like to see a percentage of that used in road safety measures.
“Traffic camera measures, speed reduction measures or barrier on certain roads as well.”
Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know.