How motorists can claim money back if wrongly caught speeding
Thousands of drivers accidentally caught speeding will be able to claim compensation if they can prove financial losses resulting from National Highways error.
The agency detected approximately 2,650 faulty camera activations since 2021 and attributed them to a technical glitch.
Not all flashes will lead to fines, as camera activations are not always enforced.
However, Lord Burnett of Maldon stated that “points do not mean rewards” for those caught by mistake.
The cross-assessment member and former chief judge said: “This means insurance premiums are rising and it can be extremely difficult for any of us to understand exactly why insurance premiums are rising from one year to the next.
“Will the government understand those who cannot provide exact figures because their insurers do not?”
Transport Secretary Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill said: “I think the Government should be good stewards of public money and therefore understand whether there is a loss and what that is.
“But I’m sure that evidence of one year’s bonus over another, if it was just about points and not about any other way of driving, at least a – if I were a plaintiff, I would think that would be acceptable.”
Press Association We know that many of the drivers affected have taken speed awareness courses.
The number of drivers unfairly prosecuted for speeding or failure to pay fines is thought to be in double digits, and a very small number of drivers are unfairly disqualified.
Lord Hendy told colleagues the Department for Transport had launched an “independent review into how the anomaly occurred”.
Conservative former minister Lord Young of Cookham had previously called for compensation for drivers “who have had to take time off work to attend speed awareness courses” or for drivers who have lost their licenses and therefore their jobs.
“Relevant police forces will contact those affected directly with details of what measures are being taken to provide compensation,” Lord Hendy said.
“Anyone reported by police will be given detailed information on how to contact National Highways if they have evidence of costs relating to this malpractice (for example those relating to loss of licence).”
Conservative peer Lord Geddes said driving at 60mph on the motorway, with a temporary 50mph limit, was “over”; “broad daylight, nice weather, no roadworks, no obstacles, no accidents.”
Asked to tell National Highways “not to abuse these temporary limits”, Lord Hendy said variable speed limits were “used particularly on busy urban roads to equalize the flow of traffic”.
The minister added that stop-and-go conditions on routes such as the M25 “both create some dangers in themselves and significantly reduce the capacity of the road”.
“So when the speed limit drops, my advice to people is to follow it, because it will save you from getting into a big bind.”
Lord Hendy had previously received a question about rail infrastructure in south-west England.
His Crossbench colleague, the Earl of Devon, asked what plans the Government were making to reroute the railway at Dawlish, where trains run along the seawall.
A storm in 2014 wiped out part of the railway, leaving south Devon and Cornwall cut off from the rest of England’s rail network.
“Since the line collapsed into the sea at Dawlish in 2014, around £140 million has been spent on resilience to keep the railway running,” the minister said.
“There is work to be done, particularly on the cliffs at Teignmouth, but there is no viable, cost-effective alternative route available any time soon.
“So actually railroad workers need to continue to keep this line open, regardless of the weather.”
