Fewer points for drivers just over speed limit

Moves to free safer motorists from the excesses of speed cameras while cracking down on the dangerous minority were unveiled today.

The Road Safety Bill includes new police powers to tackle drink drivers and higher fines for careless driving.

It also overhauls the system of fixed penalties for speeding, with lower fines for those who break the limit by only a few miles an hour.

Powers for a more flexible system of fixed penalties are aimed at matching the punishment to the severity of the offence by bringing in a system of graduated speeding penalties.

Britain has one of the best road safety records in the world, but the Government is committed to reducing the number of people killed and seriously injured on our roads by 40 per cent by 2010, 50 per cent in the case of children.

Among the measures in the Road Safety Bill, which was published today, are moves to ensure that foreign drivers cannot escape punishment in Britain through new powers to issue fixed penalty notices for endorsable offences and to take deposits from offenders who cannot provide a verifiable address.

The Government was also publishing the latest plans for compulsory identity cards this afternoon.

Home Secretary Charles Clarke has hinted at concessions to Labour rebels, saying that "genuine worries" had been raised by some MPs.

He is expected to unveil tougher powers for privacy watchdogs when the Bill comes to a key vote in a few weeks.

Under the plan, every adult will be obliged to buy an ID card containing personal details and biometric identifiers such as fingerprints and iris scans.

The Conservatives say they will oppose the introduction of the controversial cards unless ministers "conclusively prove" they are needed.