As of next week, UK drivers can contest speeding tickets online

In another move to try and free up the time of police and prosecutors, the government has decided that drivers who have been convicted of a low-level traffic offence, like speeding, will be able to contest the offence online.

According to the Ministry of Justice, this move is designed to “modernise the courts and other public services”. All drivers will have to do is head to the ‘Make a Plea’ website on their phone or computer, and they can contest the offence 24 hours a day.

That certainly makes that pesky ’33mph in a 30 zone’ speeding ticket a lot easier to deal with.

It also means drivers will be able to see all evidence against them instantly, and reduces the amount of postal responses and court appearances needed to deal with the problem.

The system being put into place was originally trialled in Manchester, and it found that nearly a third of motorists used the online system to deal with their offences. Who knows, maybe if an online court for traffic systems is effective we might see online courts for other minor offences.

Image: David Bleasdale/Flickr