The Freight Transport Association (FTA) has called for clear, transparent guidance to help drivers understand the new Careless Driving penalties.

The Department for Transport (DfT) yesterday (5^th July) announced its intention to go ahead with proposals to make Careless Driving a fixed penalty offence, bringing it in line with non-motoring fixed penalties.

The new penalty bandings will be:

Band                 Current penalty level      After changes
One                   £30                                     £50
Two                   £60                                     £100
Three                £120                                   £200
Four                  £200                                   £300

Graduated fixed penalties for commercial and PSV vehicles will also be increased.

The FTA responded to the announcement with a show of support for the Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) system, but questioned whether the penalty levels had risen accurately in line with inflation.

Malcolm Bingham, FTA’s head of policy for roads, commented: ‘The review of fixed penalty levels was long overdue and we believe that the new levels will better reflect the severity of the offences covered. It is important that fines provide a real deterrent to illegal behaviour and encourage greater compliance with road safety laws which are in place to ensure the wellbeing of all road users.

‘While calculating inflation over a 12 to 15-year period is a mathematical issue, it becomes difficult to convince the public the large increases are in line with inflation. We therefore would support a better system of review of penalties, say on a 2-yearly basis.’