Speeding ticket in a rental car

Speeding tickets in rental cars follow a fairly standard process in England and Wales, though there are a few layers to be aware of.

How the process works:

The speeding offence is typically captured by a speed camera or by a police officer. The Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) must be served on the registered keeper of the vehicle within 14 days of the offence, as required by section 1 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988. Since the vehicle is a rental car, the registered keeper is the rental company, not you.

What the rental company does:

The rental company will receive the NIP and a requirement under section 172 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 to identify the driver at the time of the offence. They are legally obliged to provide the name and address of the person who was driving, which in most cases they can identify from their booking records. They will nominate you as the driver.

Once the rental company has nominated you, the police or relevant authority will then send a NIP and section 172 notice directly to you at the address the rental company has provided. You are then legally required to confirm that you were the driver, or to identify who was if someone else was driving at the time with your permission.

What you need to do:

1. Respond to the section 172 notice within 28 days. Failing to do so is a separate criminal offence under section 172(3) of the Road Traffic Act 1988, which carries 6 penalty points and a fine, and is often treated more seriously than the original speeding offence itself.

2. Once you have confirmed you were the driver, you will then be dealt with for the speeding offence in the usual way. Depending on the speed and the circumstances, this could result in a fixed penalty notice (typically 3 points and a £100 fine), an offer of a speed awareness course if you are eligible, or a court summons for more serious speeding.

Additional costs from the rental company:

Most rental companies charge an administrative fee for dealing with traffic offences, sometimes ranging from £30 to £50 or more. This will usually be set out in the terms and conditions of your rental agreement. Check your agreement carefully, as some companies charge quite aggressively for this.

Key things to watch out for:

If you have moved address since the rental, make sure the rental company has your current details, because if the NIP goes to an old address and you fail to respond, you could end up facing the much more serious section 172 offence without even knowing about it.

If you were not actually the driver at the time, for example if you had an additional named driver on the policy who was behind the wheel, you should nominate that person rather than accept responsibility yourself.

If you believe the NIP was not served within 14 days on the registered keeper, that may be a defence, though this is relatively rare and the 14-day requirement applies to service on the registered keeper (the rental company), not to you personally.

Practical summary:

In most cases this is straightforward. The rental company nominates you, you receive the paperwork, you respond promptly, and you either accept the fixed penalty, attend a speed awareness course, or deal with the matter at court depending on the severity. The main risk is delay or failure to respond, so act quickly once you receive any correspondence.