Britain's motorists face record number of fines for 20mph offences - four times more than were issued five years ago

• Rishi Sunak last year pledged to slam ‘the brakes on the war on motorists’
• Two police forces have issued 97 per cent of 700,000 tickets issued since 2018 

Britain’s motorists faced a record number of fines for 20mph offences last year, with quadruple the number issued compared with in 2018.

Rishi Sunak last year pledged to slam ‘the brakes on the war on motorists’ by blocking blanket 20mph speed limits introduced by councils without local consent.

However more than 216,000 fines for travelling between 20mph and 30mph were handed out in 2023, four times the amount in 2018, freedom of information requests submitted by The Times show.

More than 216,000 fines for travelling between 20mph and 30mph were handed out in 2023, four times the amount in 2018

Rishi Sunak last year pledged to slam ‘the brakes on the war on motorists’ by blocking blanket 20mph speed limits introduced by councils without local consent

Enforcement of 20mph fines varied across the UK, with two police forces – Avon and Somerset and the Met – issuing 97 per cent of the 700,000 tickets issued since 2018

READ MORE: Britain’s speeding capitals revealed: Police forces that have slapped motorists with the most fines for breaking the limit are named by new study… so how does YOURS compare? 

Enforcement of 20mph fines varied across the UK, with two police forces – Avon and Somerset and the Met – issuing 97 per cent of the 700,000 tickets issued since 2018.

Sadiq Khan previously asked Scotland Yard to be ready to enforce up to one million speeding tickets amid his strategy to lower speed limits across London.

The Met has issued the equivalent of one ticket for every four cars registered in the capital, with 595,000 given out since 2018.

Six forces with 20mph limits have not issued a single fine for 20mph offences – Lancashire, West Mercia, Cleveland, Humberside, Warwickshire and Lincolnshire.

The campaign group 20’s Plenty says 28 million people in the UK live in a council area with a 20mph zone or one that plans to introduce them.

The Mayor of London’s commissioner for walking and cycling said: ‘Lowering speeds is one of the most important things we can do to reduce road danger.’

The DfT said it is working towards ‘updating the guidance to prevent the blanket use of 20mph zones, which will be published in due course’.

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