Wandsworth Council has become the first local authority in the UK to start handing out fines to speeding drivers.
Under the pilot scheme, motorists are being penalised if they exceed the 20mph limit on two busy residential roads in the borough.
The council says both are the subject of numerous complaints from local people about excessive vehicle speeds.
Until now, only the Met Police have had powers to enforce speed limits in the capital.
However, permission for Wandsworth Council to administer the fines on Priory Lane and Wimbledon Park Road was granted by London Councils, a cross-party group representing the city’s boroughs.
The pilot will continue for up to eight months using an experimental traffic order.
Offences will be caught on camera and for an initial period only, warning letters will be sent to the vehicle’s owners. After this initial period expires, penalty charge notices (PCNs) will be sent instead.
The PCN will impose a fine of £130, with a 50% discount if paid within 14 days. Under the council scheme, however, offenders will not receive penalty points on their licence.
Money received from fines will be ‘ringfenced’ and invested into road safety initiatives in the borough.
Wandsworth Council is also keen to stress that the pilot will support and not replace Met Police enforcement of excessive traffic speeds in the borough.
Cllr Simon Hogg, Wandsworth Council leader, said: “Speeding traffic is one of the biggest sources of complaints we receive from our residents. Ensuring drivers stick to the 20mph limit not only improves safety levels and encourages more people to walk or cycle, it helps reduce harmful emissions too.
“Until now, only the Metropolitan Police have had powers to enforce speed limits, but they tend to concentrate their resources on main roads and dual carriageways, whereas most of the complaints we receive are about people driving too fast along quieter residential streets.
“Our pilot scheme will focus on two residential roads where excessive speeds are known to be an issue.
“If judged a success, we will look to make it permanent and carry out enforcement in other parts of the borough where we know vehicle speeds are excessive.”
Traffic studies conducted recently over an eight-week period found that one in four vehicles broke the speed limit in Priory Lane while in Wimbledon Park Road it was one in five.
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