Surge in number of people being caught speeding sparking concern from charity in Huddersfield
There's been a surge in the number of people being caught speeding which is sparking concern from a road safety charity in West Yorkshire
A surge in drivers being caught by speed cameras has been blamed for a 12% increase in the number of penalty points added to licences last year.
Figures obtained by Co-op Insurance show drivers in Britain received 9.61 million points in 2024.
That was compared with 8.55 million during 2023, and continues a trend of the total rising every year since 2021.
Speeding on public roads and on motorways were the most common offences in both of the past two years.
The surge is drivers being caught speeding is sparking concern from a road safety charity in West Yorkshire.
Luca Straker is from Huddersfield based charity Brake and said: "Speeding is one of the main reasons that people are killed or seriously injured on on our roads today.
"I mean, five people are killed every single, every single day and about 80 people are seriously injured. We estimate that like one in four fatal crashes are a result of excessive speeding.
"We urge drivers on a daily basis to make sure that every single time they get behind the wheel of their vehicle, they're adhering to the speed limits because they're there for a reason.
"They're there to make sure that they're safe, their passengers are safe, and everybody using the road can just basically get home safely at the end of the day."
Meanwhile, AA president Edmund King described the rise in the number of points being issued as "worrying".
He told the PA news agency: "The increase is due to the boom in speed camera offences, and the fact that a higher proportion of repeat offenders have already been on a speed awareness course in the last three years, so can't avoid points by going on another course."
Mr King cited separate Home Office figures showing 2.71 million drivers were caught speeding in England and Wales in 2023, with 96% of offences detected by cameras.
That is compared with 1.49 million in 2011, when cameras were responsible for spotting 89% of incidents.