Manx court rakes in £70,000 in TT speeding fines

The Isle of Man’s courthouse has collected around £70,000 from speeders during this year’s TT.

Manx police confirmed today that 271 speeders had been caught so far during two-week festival and fined an average of £250.

Speeding fines on the island are much higher than in the UK and rise according to the severity of the offence to over £600 in some cases, according to Inspector Mark Britton, head of road policing. “It’s usually £250,” he said.

Offenders are told to attend court the following day and warned they could be arrested and jailed if they try to leave the island without doing so.

Britton said the number caught during the festival had been rising steadily for the last three years and that most of this year’s 271 were motorcyclists. He said one offender was facing a custodial sentence after being caught at over double the 60mph limit.

David Carleton, 47, was caught speeding last Tuesday and ordered to attend the island’s courthouse the following day. The married father of two was fined £150 with £25 costs for reaching 41mph in a 30mph zone. 

Carleton, an engineer from County Down, Northern Ireland, said: “An officer used a handheld laser to catch me just before the speed limit changed from 30mph to 40mph. He told me to go the courthouse the next day and that if I tried to leave the island without attending I’d be put in jail.

“There were about 30 other bikers queuing at the courthouse when I arrived. A lot of them were English and the court was taking £250 for every one that went through the door.”

Officers have put in over a thousand hours of speed enforcement during the festival, according to Inspector Britton. “We’re out there trying to make sure the course stays safe outside road closures.”

Manx police will not usually prosecute offenders unless they have exceeded the limit by a few mph. The force does not publicise the exact threshold, but a source said it was slightly higher than the UK’s, which is 10% over the limit plus 2mph, or 68mph in a 60 zone.

 
Licence points imposed on the island don’t apply in the UK but any driving ban will.  “Throughout the year you can expect to be stung with heavier fines here than in the UK,” added Britton.