The Mayor of London has announced he wants to have the capacity to enforce up to a million speeding offences next year, in a major crackdown that will see motorists slapped with fines as well as points on their licence.
Sadiq Khan set out the targets in the Transport for London (TfL) annual reports. Under the new plans, new cameras would be installed throughout the capital and those caught going too fast could face a fine of £100 and three points.
TfL explained that when it launched more cameras at the start of 2022, 50,000 offences were enforced.
A year later, a staggering 650,000 speeding offences were recorded overall, up from 160,000 in 2018/19, according to GB News.
The news channel also reported that recent data found that almost one in every four cars registered in the capital had received a speeding fine in the past six years.
Nearly 600,000 tickets have been issued to motorists by the Metropolitan Police since 2018, accounting for 85 percent of the 700,000 total fines handed out across the UK during that period.
The news comes despite anger from some motorists over Mr Khan’s 20mph speed limit zones, which were rolled out across London last year.
From March 31, 2023, the speed restrictions were brought in across 17 miles, in the boroughs of Camden, Islington, Hackney, Haringey and Tower Hamlets.
TfL said: “The laser cameras, which are operated by a team of police community support officers for the first time, complement other policing and enforcement activities to tackle speeding.
“This includes London’s extensive fixed safety camera network, police roadside enforcement using speed guns, and Community Roadwatch, where community volunteers work with police to educate speeding motorists about the dangers and consequences of speeding.”
According to reports, the 20mph speed limit in London has helped bring down the risk of someone being killed or seriously injured by a quarter.