How Weekly Income Is Used to Calculate Speeding Fines

This guide explains how income affects an England and Wales court fine for speeding, and how that differs from the standard fixed penalty.

In this easy-to-read guide, we’ll explain:

• How speeding fines are worked out, using your weekly pay.
• The England and Wales court fine bands A, B and C.
• Why you might not have to pay your fine.
• How you might get caught speeding.
• How to go about appealing a ticket.

Getting a speeding ticket can be frustrating. But don’t worry; we’ll help you understand your fine and what you can do about it.

Speeding Fine Calculator

Salary (annual)

£

Speed Limit

20 30 40 50 60 70

Alleged Speed

This is a guidance tool only and not an assessment. For accurate speeding fine figures, contact the issuing authority credit. Do not rely solely on this calculator’s results.

Will I always be Fined?

No. Whilst you might think that once you’ve been caught speeding, you’ll have to pay a fine, this isn’t always true.

I recently talked about speeding tickets in the Western Telegraph¹, explaining some key aspects of speeding tickets and the process of getting one.

A first Notice of Intended Prosecution normally must be served on the registered keeper within 14 days, but statutory exceptions apply, including where the police could not identify the keeper with reasonable diligence. A later notice to a nominated driver does not have the same 14-day deadline.

For an ordinary speeding prosecution in England and Wales, proceedings generally must begin within six months of the offence. That is not a six-month deadline for the driver to receive an FPN or court papers.

The police may offer a speed awareness course instead of a fixed penalty if their eligibility criteria are met. You normally must not have completed the same relevant course for an offence in the preceding three years. A course is discretionary and has a fee.

So, in summary, no, you will not always be fined. But if you are, what could it look like?

How Much Are Speeding Tickets?

The price of speeding tickets varies on many things:

• The speed you were going compared to the speed limit
• Your age
• Your vehicle 
• Any relevant aggravating or mitigating factors; your insurance policy does not set the fine.
• Whether it’s your first offence
• Your annual salary

The standard speeding fixed penalty is generally £100 and three points. A court sentence is a different process and depends on the relevant guideline, means and circumstances.

If you accumulate too many driver penalty points, in this case, twelve over three years, then you could have your licence taken away from you.

Under the new-driver rules, DVLA normally revokes a licence if the driver reaches six or more penalty points within two years of passing their first driving test. This differs from a court’s totting-up disqualification.

Do not ignore a notice because it arrived later than expected. Service rules, statutory exceptions and prosecution deadlines differ. Get advice about a suspected defect and respond accurately to any section 172 request.

You can use my above speeding fine calculator to have a better idea of how much your fine will be.

» TAKE ACTION NOW: Get legal support from JustAnswer

How is Your Weekly Income Affected?

A fixed penalty does not increase according to salary. If the case goes to court, the court assesses the offence and the offender’s financial circumstances.

Like almost all aspects of a speeding ticket, your fine will depend on other aspects. In this case, it’s how fast you were going over the limit and is part of a progressive penalty system.

The fines can be split into bands – BAND A, B and C. If you’re caught speeding, and your weekly income comes into effect, you’ll most likely be in one of these speeding fine bands.

How is Weekly Income Calculated for Speeding Fines?

For court fines in England and Wales, relevant weekly income normally means earnings after tax and National Insurance. Monthly net pay can be converted by multiplying by 12 and dividing by 52; annual net pay is divided by 52. Complete the court’s means form accurately and provide evidence.

The Sentencing Council’s income guidance normally uses £120 where income is solely benefits or net earnings are no more than £120 weekly. Variable earnings are usually averaged over four to six weeks; broader circumstances may need assessment. Where no reliable information permits an assessment, the guideline uses £440, so do not withhold means information.

A NIP is notice of possible prosecution, not a PCN or a plea form. If you dispute speeding, follow the fixed-penalty or court instructions and continue to meet the separate driver-information deadline.

Appealing a ticket

A defended court case can result in higher costs and a court sentence if you are convicted. There is no verified success percentage established here; assess the actual evidence and any legal defence.

A section 172 request for driver details normally requires a response within 28 days, even if you dispute the alleged speeding or the timing of the NIP. Give accurate information; if you cannot identify the driver, seek advice promptly rather than guessing or ignoring the request.

Failure to provide required driver details is a separate offence, normally carrying six points and a fine up to £1,000. Limited statutory defences exist; simply saying you cannot remember is not an automatic defence.

Sometimes, the excuses that wouldn’t have been acceptable to dispute the penalty can be used in a mitigation letter to reduce the punishments you received.

A defence disputes guilt; mitigation concerns the sentence after guilt is accepted or established. Do not admit an offence merely to submit a letter. Follow any requirement to attend court and seek advice if the allegation or potential ban is serious.

If you could potentially lose your licence, which would result in you losing your job or other more serious consequences, you can include this in the letter, and you may get leniency from the court, but this isn’t guaranteed, even with legal representation for speeding fines.

Here are some of the most common reasons for appealing a speeding ticket/Fixed Penalty Notice.

Issue to check	Possible evidence	Important limit
The alleged offence did not occur	Contemporaneous photographs, video or reliable records.	The relevant legal elements and evidence must be assessed.
Valid insurance or entitlement	Policy documents or DVLA records covering the exact time and use.	Holding a document now does not prove cover or entitlement at the time.
A recognised statutory exemption	Evidence establishing the exact exemption, such as an applicable medical exemption.	An emergency or misunderstanding does not automatically amount to a defence.
Identity or vehicle details	Evidence of a mismatch, mistaken identity or cloned vehicle.	Follow the notice’s response requirements; do not invent a driver or account.
Signage or equipment	Photographs and reliable evidence relevant to the alleged offence.	A malfunctioning speedometer is not a general defence to speeding. Seek legal advice before contesting.

FPNs do not use the same appeal procedure as council PCNs. Follow the notice; contesting the allegation may require a court hearing. Paper tax discs have not been required since 1 October 2014.

How do the Speeding Bands Work?

Depending on how fast you were going over the speed limit determines how your weekly income is affected and calculated when it comes to your speeding ticket.

The recorded speed and limit determine the starting category in the speeding guideline. A course offer and a fixed penalty have different criteria; being a particular number of mph over does not automatically produce a court fine.

For illustration only, net pay of £2,600 per month is £600 per week when multiplied by 12 and divided by 52. Use your actual financial information, not a national average salary.

A Band A starting point of 50% would be £300 on relevant weekly income of £600, before any applicable adjustments. This example is not a prediction: a guilty plea, circumstances, legal maximum, costs and surcharge affect the final amount.

Here, you can find a helpful table that tells you all about the different brackets you can enter, the minimum and maximum fines, and the consequences for them.

SPEED LIMIT (mph)	BAND A – Recorded Speed (mph)	BAND B – Recorded Speed (mph)	BAND C – Recorded Speed (mph)
20	21-30	31-40	41+
30	31-40	41-50	51+
40	41-55	56-65	66+
50	51-65	66-75	76+
60	61-80	81-90	91+
70	71-90	91-100	101+
Fine of weekly income	25 – 75%	75 – 125%	125 – 175%
Points	Three	Four to Six	Six

The table gives England and Wales court guideline categories, not a guaranteed fixed-penalty tariff. At each band, the court considers the permitted points or disqualification and relevant factors.

If you’re in Band B or C, you could be disqualified from driving for a certain period. In these bands, either you’ll receive the points or get disqualified.

For Band B, the time can be anywhere from 7-28 days, four weeks. However, with Band C, this could increase to 56 days.

If you are confused, you can use my above speeding fine calculator for a better idea.

Are there higher bands than A, B, and C?

The speeding offence guideline uses Bands A, B and C. Bands D, E and F in the general fine framework must not be presented as additional speeding brackets.

For speeding, the normal starting points are:

• Band A: starting point 50% of relevant weekly income, with a 25–75% range.
• Band B: starting point 100%, with a 75–125% range.
• Band C: starting point 150%, with a 125–175% range.

The court fine for speeding is capped at £1,000, or £2,500 on a motorway. Prosecution costs and a victim surcharge may be payable in addition to the fine.

References

1. Western Telegraph – New Welsh 20mph speed limit- what happens if I get caught speeding?