New on-the-spot fines that mean drivers can get tickets for offences including tailgating have now gone live.

The new fines are now live

The new rules, first announced in June, will see the introduction of a £100 fine for a wide range of careless driving offences including tailgating and middle lane hogging.

In addition, existing fixed penalty levels for most motoring offences – including using a mobile phone at the wheel and not wearing a seatbelt – rise to £100 to bring them into line with the penalties for similar non-motoring fixed penalties. Meanwhile the current fixed penalty for driving without insurance rises from £200 to £300.

In addition, most serious offences will continue to be sent to court, where offenders may face higher penalties.

The move has been met with a mixed reaction from road safety charity the IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorists).

IAM chief executive Simon Best said: ‘If the police target the worst and most persistent offenders this could be good news for road safety. If, however, it just becomes another numbers game with thousands of careless driving tickets issued then the impact will be limited. The IAM believes that driver retraining courses have a much bigger potential to actually improve poor driving than simply issuing a standard fine and should always be offered as the first stage of prosecution.’