Motorists Can Plead Online To Speeding Charges

A new digital service will allow people charged with minor motoring offences to make a plea online.

The service will be rolled out across England and Wales from the end of March and will cover offences like speeding or driving without insurance.

The scheme has been piloted in Manchester where around a third of offenders made their plea online.

It offers motorists an alternative to making a postal plea or attending court.

The Government says that some of the highest volume work that the police, prosecution service and courts deal with is low level traffic offences.

"Digital technology gives us an opportunity to make the justice system simpler, clearer and faster - and part of this means reducing or removing the unnecessary movement of paper, and people, around the system," said Courts Minister Shailesh Vara.

"The new 'Make a Plea' service is reducing case time and costs for the courts and the police, ensuring that they can focus on the most complex cases. It makes it easy, simple and quick for people to access justice."

The Government’s wider modernisation of the courts has included investing £160m in digital technology for courtrooms including video links, wifi and improved IT systems.