As speeding tickets soar across the South West – are you gambling with your licence?

Report by Duncan Williams for Pulman's Weekly News

The number of motorists fined in Devon and Cornwall has more than tripled in just five years, new figures reveal.

Analysis of Home Office data by temporary insurance provider Tempcover shows that 174,689 Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) were issued in the force area in 2023, compared with 52,152 in 2018 - a rise of 235 per cent.

Speeding was by far the most common offence, with 570,799 fines recorded between 2018 and 2023. Other major offences included driving without insurance (13,570) and careless driving (10,026).

In 2023 alone, more than 9,700 fines - about 5.6 per cent of the total - ended up in court, while just over 18,400 (10.5 per cent) were cancelled.

Across the wider South West, FPNs rose by 58 per cent over the same period. Wiltshire saw the sharpest increase at 371 per cent, followed by Devon and Cornwall, then Gloucestershire (90 per cent). Dorset (25 per cent) and Avon and Somerset (0.1 per cent) recorded smaller rises.

National…