The more you earn the more you will be fined for speeding when new penalty scales come into effect on April 24.
The minimum penalty for speeding is currently a £100 fine and three penalty points on your driving licence, while the maximum is £1,000 or £2,500 for motorway offences. But when the changes come into effect offenders could be fined up to 175 per cent of their weekly income if their case goes to court.
Currently many drivers get away without points and a fine by paying for a speed awareness course.
The new sentencing structure aims to reduce the number of speeding drivers – which increased by 44 per cent in the past five years.
Speeding offences will be split into three bands, rating the severity of the offence based on the speed limit.
Band A refers to an offence that is between one and 10mph over the stated speed limit.
A band B offence is 11mph to 21mph above the stated speed limit and a band C offence is 21 mph and above the stated speed limit.
The starting point for a Band A fine is 50% of your weekly wage; the Band B starting point is 100% of your weekly wage; and the Band C starting point is 150% of your weekly wage, rising to 175%.
The Sentencing Council has also identified a number of factors which courts can take into account which could increase the seriousness of the offence. These include speeding while towing a caravan, speeding near a school or speeding near large numbers of pedestrians.
You could still be disqualified from driving if you build up 12 or more penalty points within a period of three years and if you are within two years of passing your driving test, your driving licence will be revoked if you build up 6 or more penalty points.
For lesser offences motorists may still be issued with fixed penalty notices allowing them to admit the offence and avoid a court appearance. As the name suggests, such notices will generate a fixed £100 fine and three points on the licence, regardless of the circumstances of the offence.
Of course, if the allegation is denied and a not guilty plea entered there is a risk of conviction in court under the tougher sentencing regime.
A total of 166,216 people were fined for speeding offences in England and Wales in 2015, with the average fine being £188.
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