More and more motorists caught for speeding are being issued with court summons rather than a Fixed Penalty Notice, according to research conducted by insurance providers Liverpool Victoria.

Summons are used when the speeding offence in question is of a particularly serious nature. 48,000 drivers received one last year – a ten per cent rise on the year before.

Over the same period, the number of Fixed Penalty Notices issued dropped by six per cent to over 492,000.

The research suggests that there are a growing number of motorists whose speeding is a real concern. The statistics, which were revealed after freedom of information requests to police forces, showed that almost one in six drivers who were caught speeding were travelling at more than 25mph over the posted speed limit.

Legally this calls for drivers to be put before the courts, with the possibility of a driving ban being handed down.

Though most speeding motorists were caught by traditional fixed camera sites, a third of motorists were caught either by the increasingly used mobile roadside cameras, or by police in traffic patrol cars.

And it seems motorists are willing to increase the lengths to which they will go to avoid getting caught, rather than simply adhering to the speed limit. One in seven claim to memorise police patrols in their area, while 16 per cent have invested in some form of speed camera detection technology.

Freedom of information data revealed that Lancashire Constabulary issued the most court summons in 2012, with 10,641 drivers brought before Magistrates. It was followed by Hampshire (6,778) and Nottinghamshire Police (4,771).

John O’Roarke, managing director of LV= car insurance, said: “While overall speeding convictions are down, it appears that the Police are rightly taking a hard line on the most serious speeding offences.

“However, if a driver is caught exceeding the limit by even just a few mph, they can still be fined and given penalty points. Drivers should take care to know their limits to avoid a fine, penalty points or worse.”

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