The Ministry of Justice has unveiled plans to alleviate pressure on the criminal justice system by creating special courts for traffic offences, which are to be rolled out across the UK.
At present, nine areas across the UK have been trialling the dedicated traffic courts: Essex, Hampshire, Kent, Lincolnshire, The Metropolitan Police, Nottinghamshire, Suffolk, Norfolk and West Yorkshire.
The full spectrum of traffic offences will be dealt with by the traffic courts, from speeding to driving without insurance cover.
On average it takes 6 months for traffic offences to be processed by the courts, often to the detriment of more serious cases. The time taken to process traffic offenders has been criticised since most cases result in a guilty plea, or are proven in absence.
The government is discussing how the new courts can be rolled out across the UK.
Chief Constable Chris Eyre, of the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo), said: "We have implemented this new procedure to traffic cases with great success in nine police forces – radically simplifying and speeding up the process.
"Effective first hearings have significantly reduced the amount of adjournments and a single court can deal with up to 160 cases a day."
The trialled courts are only used if the case against the defendant is not contested, or if there is a guilty plea.
The government wants the justice system to address the needs of victims, witnesses and communities more quickly and more efficiently.
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