Following a successful pilot scheme, new courts are to be set up in England and Wales to fast-track minor motoring offences, as they can often take longer to process than major crimes.
Currently some 500,000 minor offences go through the courts every year clogging up time that could be spent on more serious cases; on average these cases take nearly six months to process from offence to completion.
However, the new courts will only deal with cases where the driver has pleaded guilty. For offences where the driver contests the charge, the case will be dealt with in the magistrate court as usual.
Justice Minister Damian Green said that enforcing traffic laws was hugely important for road safety but the time it was taking to hear cases, especially those when drivers had accepted their guilt, was “simply unacceptable”.
He added that the justice system must respond more quickly and effectively to the needs of victims, witnesses and local communities, and is sure that these dedicated courts will enable magistrates to better organise their work and drive greater efficiency,
In the pilot areas of Metropolitan Police, Essex, Hampshire, Kent, Lincolnshire, Nottingham, Norfolk, Suffolk and West Yorkshire, the courts successfully simplified the legal process according to police.
The new courts are expected to be set up in every police area by April next year to hear up to 160 cases a day using specialist prosecutors. The sort of cases they will hear will include speeding, traffic light offences and those relating to insurance and driving licences.