The Government has announced a crackdown on roadhogs and tailgaters as part of a shake-up of motoring offence penalties.
Drivers who hog the middle lane or tailgate other cars risk on-the-spot fines of £100 and three points on their licence under plans unveiled by Road Safety Minister Stephen Hammond.
The fixed penalty of £100 will also enable police to offer educational training as an alternative to licence endorsement. Drivers will still be able to appeal against any decision in court. The plans also include a rise from £60 to £100 in the fine for using a hand-held mobile phone while at the wheel and a similar increase in the penalty for not wearing a seatbelt.
Mr Hammond said: "Careless drivers are a menace and their negligence puts innocent people's lives at risk. That is why we are making it easier for the police to tackle problem drivers by allowing them to immediately issue a fixed penalty notice rather than needing to take every offender to court.
"We are also increasing penalties for a range of driving offences to a level which reflects their seriousness and which will ensure that they are consistent with other similar penalty offences."
AA president Edmund King said: "It is worrying that three-quarters of drivers (in an AA/Populus survey last year) see others using mobile phones behind the wheel on some or most journeys.
"This epidemic of hand-held mobile phone use while driving has already cost lives and our members have demanded action. An increase in the standard motoring fixed penalty fine will help deter those who commit motoring offences including mobile phone use.
"AA members broadly support an increase in the level of the fixed penalty. Our members also fully support educational training as an alternative to penalty points."
He went on: "We are also pleased to see that at long last new powers and fines will be given to the police to tackle the top three pet hates of drivers – tailgaters, mobile phone abusers and middle-lane hogs."
Chief Constable Suzette Davenport, who heads the roads policing section of the Association of Chief Police Officers, said: "The new penalties are absolutely necessary to deal with drivers who are putting people's lives at risk, and police will not hesitate to enforce them.
"These measures should also act as a reminder to careless drivers that their behaviour will not be tolerated."
Institute of Advanced Motorists director of policy Neil Greig said: "This is a major change in traffic law enforcement and the IAM is concerned that issuing fixed penalty tickets for careless driving downplays the seriousness of the offence.
"Careless covers a wide range of poor to reckless driving behaviour that often merits further investigation."
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