The speed camera has become almost a national institution, although some would have a rather darker view of it. Regardless of this, we are stuck with them and many people are starting to wonder if there’s any way around it. To be honest the answer to that question is no. More times than not, taking your case to court could end up with having to pay a much larger fine if you lose your case.
It has become common place to see speed camera’s wherever you go in the UK and statistically, this means you are much more likely to be caught speeding by one.
Even the most careful driver can at times exceed the speed limit enough to possibly fall victim. For the average person receiving 3-6 points can leave a large hole in their pocket when the time comes for
car insurance renewal.
By the beginning of April this year, 1.3 million drivers were to find themselves with a grand total of 9 points on their licence. A figure which has risen exponentially from 200,000 in 2005.
Now with the news that government plans include placement of many more speed cameras (with new digital technology), it is a more than likely possibility you could find yourself receiving a penalty. To be able to find a genuinely
cheap car insurance policy in this country you need to have little or no points, a large number of no claims bonus points and an empty claims record for the previous 3 years. You may find this difficult to achieve with the introduction of so many new camera’s, thought by some to have little or no effect in reducing accidents in the “Blackspots” they are placed in. Indeed many theorise that more accidents may be caused due to sudden braking at the sight of a speed camera. Of course this is mainly speculation and until a government body carries out research to either discount or back this theory up, there is little anyone can do about it.
News of a new type of cover, namely; “loss of licence”, brings hope that if you are unlucky enough to receive a total of 12 points and lose your licence, you will have a lifeline. The insurance policy is designed to pay out a certain amount of money to help with costs of transportation during your ban. The pioneering companies are offering this cover for reasonable prices at different levels depending on how many existing points you have at them time of purchase.
The question is; is this the brilliant idea it sounds, or, does it raise serious safety issues in the form of complacency brought on by the knowledge of having this cover.
The answer it seems is no as there will always be those who use this policy to drive dangerously, safe in the knowledge that if they lose their licence they will still have access to transportation. For those of you genuinely worried about loss of income from a driving licence ban this could very well be a viable solution.
