Can someone please explain.....

SPEEDING DRIVERS MAY FACE VICTIM LEVY
Motorists convicted of speeding may have to pay compensation for victims of crime, the Goverment has proposed.
The plan, from David Blunkett, is one of several changes to the funding of victim support services.
Drivers fined for speeding etc would face a levy of an extra £5 or £10 towards a Home Office fund, providing victim and witness compensation and support.

As motorists do we not already pay enough to Goverment coffers?
Why not punish the perpetrator, rather than the all too easily targeted driver?
A tax by another name once more???????
Ease off the gas, you've been warned!

Originally posted by claycraft

Why not punish the perpetrator, rather than the all too easily targeted driver?


I took it from that that they are punishing the perpetrator. If youre speeding, youre breaking the law. The only people being targeted are the ones in the wrong. Stick to the speed limit, dont get fined. Makes perfect sense to me.

The largest levies (of around £30) would only be raised on those motorists "given a prison term or suspended sentence" for speeding or alternatively a lower levy for those "speeding or driving without insurance". This seems pretty fair to me, you would have to be driving pretty damn fast to qualify for this levy, or alternatively be bad enough to drive without insurance.

Read the full, correct story at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3390315.stm

:thumbsup:

As I understand it this levy is not just for traffic offences - it is for any offence. I may be wrong but I think that is what Baroness Scotland said last night on Newsnight. Seems to me the motorists are getting a bit paranoid

The story makes it clear that anyone done for speeding will be charged the levy, which is ridiculous.

The criminal injury scheme pays compensation to victims of crime who have been suffered either physical or mental injury. Why are drivers caught for no more than speeding, and who have caused no such injury, being made to pay?

In my opinion it would be better to have prisoners (real criminals) working to raise money for the scheme. If they don't work to 'pay their dues' to the scheme, then they can forget about parole. This country has gone far too soft and is punishing the wrong people.

I don't get people who are complaining about these 'stealth taxes' as they've become known. Would you rather people got off scott free? Surely it's good that the fines are going towards something productive? If you want to avoid these 'taxes' then just don't break the law!!

Originally posted by Sidla
I don't get people who are complaining about these 'stealth taxes' as they've become known. Would you rather people got off scott free? Surely it's good that the fines are going towards something productive? If you want to avoid these 'taxes' then just don't break the law!!
Nobody has said abolish speed restrictions and fines for speeding have they?

It is being suggested that it is wrong to fund the criminal injuries compensation scheme by charging an additional levy on motorists that speed. They pay for their offence with a fine and points on their licence - why should they now be expected to pay for other peoples crimes as well?

Isnt there a phrase about "doing the crime and serving the time"

I might have it worded a bit wrong, but I always took it to mean that if you commit a crime you should do so in the understanding that you will get the rule book chucked at you - mickey mouse extra charges or not - if you are caught

People who do not speed, or drive without insurance, or burgle or whatever, wont be paying

That means all us I trust......?

:thumbsup:

Not me Belle. Like 99% of the population I break the speed limit every time I get in my car. This doesn't make me some boy racer driving as fast as I can, performing hand-brake turns and wheel spinning at every opportunity. It simply means that I, like most drivers, go over 30 mph when conditions permit. I can't believe that there are so many people who post on this forum that pretend they never speed and make out like it is some BIG crime -"don't do the crime if you can't do the time" rubbish!

This is no more than another stealth tax. Are they going to reduce tax in any other area to "reward" all the good people who never speed (all 1% of you)? I don't think so. Therefore it's no more than another way for the government to get more money without having to raise income tax - after all they wouldn't want us to think they are the party of high taxation would they!

God, it pains me to talk like this. I now despise this government almost as much as I did the Thatcher Government.:(

Originally posted by Zamo
Not me Belle. Like 99% of the population I break the speed limit every time I get in my car.
You can't excuse speeding by saying "everybody does it, so it must be OK".

Originally posted by Sidla
You can't excuse speeding by saying "everybody does it, so it must be OK".
The thing with speeding is that there are so many circumstances that should really be taken into account before you decide whether someone is driving dangerously e.g. their level of skill, reaction times, type of car, weather conditions, number of other vehicles on the road, visability etc, etc. Now I know that in reality this isn't practical so instead we have fixed speed limits to try and keep speeds down. This works to a certain extent but the reality is that every time someone drives there will be times when it is safe to drive more than the prescribed limit. 99% of people will follow their own judgement in these circumstances and I don't think the label of "criminal" is really justified.

I think we all agree that speeding is against the law and is punished by way of fines and points.
Sadly we now live in times where speeding is almost the norm,in my line of work it is almost vital that I constantly break the speed limit.
This does not mean that I go screaming through residential areas at 60mph,I still respect the fact that peope live their lives there and children can be around at anytime and drive accordingly.

While most people wont admit to speeding on a regular basis,its a fact that most people do.

I have admitted to speeding due to my work,however if I am caught speeding then I must pay the price by way of fines and points because that is the law.
So this levy may make us think twice before hitting the gas,it may make peoples jobs abit harder but as with all things,thats life.

Doesnt seem very stealthy to me

We are all talking about it

It all seems a bit odd, really.

If I'm speeding, then I will be fined £60 + £5. The £5 is not just to pay compensation to the victims of road crime - but to the victims of ALL crime.

So, as a motorist caught for doing 45mph in a 40 mph zone I will be asked to pay compensation to the victims of muggings, burglaries, rapes, murders. Is it because motorists are an easy target? Because it certainly doesn't seem to be as a result of any real sense of justice or fair play.

Why didn't they just quietly increase the fines and then just divide the increase after its been collected.

Or would that be too simple?

Originally posted by slh73
I took it from that that they are punishing the perpetrator. If youre speeding, youre breaking the law. The only people being targeted are the ones in the wrong. Stick to the speed limit, dont get fined. Makes perfect sense to me.

All well and good, but a speeder is hardly a rapist or murderer. More often than not, it is simply a matter of taking ones eyes off the speedometer for a few seconds and tricking a few mph over the limit. Speeders should be punished, but why can't the generated money be put towards road safety and improvements rather than being directed to the victims of more serious crimes? Let rapists pay for victim support for their victims, not drivers.

'Surcharges' and not stealth taxes retorted Baroness Scotland (another Home Office Blair Babe plant?) making a complete idiot of herself on Newsnight last night to Paxman who just shrugged his shoulders in amazement at her explanation!

So, we are all, (that is those of us they can 'march off to the cash machines')having to contribute through 'top up' fines to help victims of crimes! And those who are the cause of the majority of the 'victims of crime' will as usual put up the famous two fingers! because they do not have the 'ability' to pay.

Originally posted by t020
Speeders should be punished, but why can't the generated money be put towards road safety and improvements rather than being directed to the victims of more serious crimes? Let rapists pay for victim support for their victims, not drivers.
I think the reason that the money does not go to road improvements is because there's already enough money going into road improvements. The problem is not that there is not enough money, the problem is that there is not enough people who wish to work on road maintenance. Maybe instead of fines we should give people compulsory community service, where they do a week working on road safety.

My point was that once again the motorist was in the frontline for raising funds for Goverment policy. I admit that whilst driving I break the limit and if caught accept that I will have to pay a fine and recieve points as a penelty. No argument. Nobody hurt.
Should, whilst speeding, I become involved in an accident and someone is hurt or property damaged then yes, as there is a third party involved, I should indeed pay into this levvy.
Quote Mr Blunkitt: "The effects of crime on the lives of its VICTIMS can be devestating." As over recent years the offence of speeding has become as socially unacceptable as drink driving are we motorist up there with the murderers, muggers and rapists who will simply stand up and say "Can't pay, won't pay?"
Even Mr Anthony Forsyth of Victim Support commented "We are uncomfortable with the idea of linking this extra income with these sorts of minor offences."
I also noted that if you are to be found drunk in public that you also stand to recieve the extra top up fine. How many of us stand to be eligible for that on a weekend I wonder?

"we motorist up there with the murderers, muggers and rapists"

Good point Claycraft.


People like to have someone to be angry at, and at the minute, it seems to be motorists.

I feel like an angry mob is gonna lynch me when I say i'm a motorist.

Ive been looking over in the Sheffield Chat section, on the "Should Cyclists Be More Accountable" thread.

It seems that any motorist in that room wouldn't stand a chance in an argument, due to the self righteousness and supposed moral superiority of the cyclists.

Any car drivers in there have to listen to the fact that their 'gas guzzlers' negate any argument they have to make.

It is a typical example of how the driver is the bad guy who wouldnt think twice about flattening your kids, while anybody that doesnt drive is some kind of angel destined for a cycle-lane covered, pedestrianised heaven.

Originally posted by jackthedog
Ive been looking over in the Sheffield Chat section, on the "Should Cyclists Be More Accountable" thread.

It seems that any motorist in that room wouldn't stand a chance in an argument, due to the self righteousness and supposed moral superiority of the cyclists.

Any car drivers in there have to listen to the fact that their 'gas guzzlers' negate any argument they have to make.

It is a typical example of how the driver is the bad guy who wouldnt think twice about flattening your kids, while anybody that doesnt drive is some kind of angel destined for a cycle-lane covered, pedestrianised heaven.

This is just a repetition of the other two threads attacking cyclists - and a good example of the attitude some drivers have towards other road users - i.e. a being a bully

This is a situation of the heads I win, tails you lose type. Time and again we attack the government for hidden taxes and this time they've actually come out and said where the new 'tax' will be coming from and to where it's going.

imo the reason we motorists are continually being attacked and penalised is because owning a car is a visible sign that we can afford to pay. The theory, I'm theorising here, may be that we can always downsize our car if the paying becomes a burden.

Personally speaking, anything which helps curb my speed can only be a good thing. Having spent my formative driving years in a Triumph TR3A on the relatively empty roads of NZ in the '70s I find it very difficult not to speed at every opportunity. Knowing that there may be speed cameras around every bend has certainly made me more aware of speed limits.

If there is to be a surcharge on fines which will go towards victims of crime think on this:

The recipient of that money may well be a resident of a more affluent area of Sheffield who has been singled out by the scumbags from the lower classes.

*Somebody please tell me how to do one of those quote box things. It's hard to make a point without them*


"This is just a repetition of the other two threads attacking cyclists - and a good example of the attitude some drivers have towards other road users - i.e. a being a bully"


Dug, when did I bully?

Originally posted by jackthedog
"This is just a repetition of the other two threads attacking cyclists - and a good example of the attitude some drivers have towards other road users - i.e. a being a bully"

Dug, when did I bully?

I'm not accusing you of bullying. However some drivers and their attitude towards other road users, including cyclists, pedestrians, horse riders etc. leads me to believe that they think they own the road. They don't, and it is only to be expected to create a certain reaction when measures are suggested that further marginalize groups.