Speeding (Section 89 Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984)

Speeding is an offence under s.89 Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984. A person who drives a motor vehicle on a road at a speed exceeding a limit imposed by or under any enactment to which the section applies is guilty of an offence (s.89(1)). The enactments are any enactment contained in the 1984 Act except s.17(2), s.2 Parks Regulation (Amendment) Act 1926, and any enactment not contained in the Act but passed after 1 September 1960 (s.89(3)). A person prosecuted for the offence shall not be liable to be convicted solely on the evidence of one witness to the effect that, in the opinion of the witness, the person was driving at a speed exceeding a specified limit (s.89(2)). Maximum sentence: triable summarily only, a fine of level 3 on the standard scale; endorsement is obligatory with 3 to 6 penalty points (or 3 on a fixed penalty), and disqualification is discretionary (Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988, Schedule 2, Part I).

In practice

This is a summary-only offence: it must be tried at the magistrates' court. Police may charge without CPS authority for summary offences. The suspect must be cautioned in accordance with Code C PACE 1984 before any questions about the offence are put to them. Interviews must be audio-recorded (Code E) or, for indictable offences, may be visually recorded (Code F).