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New approaches to fines and compensation
Should anyone who breaks traffic laws not only face a fixed penalty fine - but also a fixed surcharge to be allocated to a victim's compensation fund?
The proposal comes from a UK consultation paper prepared by the Home Office and it has already won broad support from Britain's Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety.
The paper, "Compensation and Support for Victims of Crime", puts forward the idea as part of wider proposal to improve compensation and support for victims of crime. It said in the case of traffic offences, the surcharge would be levied whether or not there was an identifiable victim. Thus a motorist caught speeding would pay say an extra five pounds sterling on a fixed penalty of sixty pounds sterling.
The Home Office is not sure precisely how much would be raised over a year but it would be in the region of tens of millions of dollars - and all of it would be used to fund services for victims. The advisory council has told the Home Office the concept has its support - provided that the funds raised through motoring offenses are earmarked to support victims of road crashes.
"By paying for the support of those who have been road victims, motoring offenders will be better able to understand and relate to the consequences of dangerous behaviour such as excessive speed," says the advisory council.
