Drivers face £2,500 fines for following speed limit on satnav

If a fault leads to a driver exceeding the speed limit, they could be pulled over or caught by a speed camera, where they will be issued a fine which varies from GBP100 to GBP2,500, along with penalty points on their licence.

12:52, 13 Feb 2025

Drivers have been warned over following the speed limit on satnavs. If a fault leads to a driver exceeding the speed limit,[1] they could be pulled over or caught by a speed camera, where they will be issued a fine which varies from GBP100 to GBP2,500, along with penalty points on their licence.

Mark Trimbee, CEO of the private number plate firm Regtransfers,[2] has warned drivers to avoid following the speed limit stated on the system. He said: "Satnavs rely on GPS readings to calculate speed, and while they're often accurate, there's always a chance the reading could be wrong since accuracy is determined by the quality of the satellite signal being received.

"As long as it's in good condition, your speedo should never understate your speed; by law, it must never show less than the speed you're going, and must never show more than 110 percent of your speed." He warned: "It's never a good idea to base your speed on your own judgement.

30mph can feel like a crawl after being on the motorway, and it can be all too easy to misjudge your speed.

READ MORE OVO makes big change for millions and customers could lose GBP144 a year[3]

"As for using other road users to judge your speed, this one's simple; if they're over the speed limit, you will be too." On Reddit, one driver fumed: "The speed limit info shown on Google Maps etc is so often completely and utterly wrong that I actually think it's more misleading to have it than not.

"Just today I was driving along a road that is clearly 20 mph and has been for years while Google insisted it was 40 (!). I'm sure you all know that it does this ALL the time, and it's not just Google. Almost any drive of 15 mins or more you're likely to encounter a road where the satnav misrepresents the limit, in my experience.

"I would posit that if you are driving in an unfamiliar area and don't know the limit - either through missing a sign or otherwise - you are more likely to play it safe and drive at no more than 30 until you next see a speed sign.

Having a wrong speed limit on your screen just empowers you to drive at a potentially unsafe speed, trusting information that is extremely unreliable.

"It may well be the case that almost everybody on the road knows to ignore the sat nav speed limit due to inaccuracy.

But then why even have it?

It just seems like an accident waiting to happen."

References

1. ^ to a driver exceeding the speed limit, (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
2. ^ Mark Trimbee, CEO of the private number plate firm Regtransfers, (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
3. ^ READ MORE OVO makes big change for millions and customers could lose GBP144 a year (www.birminghammail.co.uk)