London is motor-fine capital

London has been revealed as the motor-fine capital of the UK following research from Esure.

The car-insurance firm released results of a survey claiming that drivers in the capital pay a staggering £680 in driving fines throughout their lifetimes. This was way above the other geographic regions of the country.

The survey questioned 1,107 motorists across the UK on how many fines they have had to pay. Here are some of the results:

• drivers in the northeast pay an average of £352 in fines throughout their lifetimes
• drivers in the southeast pay an average of £303
• drivers in Northern Ireland pay the least at £90 on average
• drivers in Scotland pay £198 on average

There was also a discrepancy between the fines paid by men and by women. On average, men pay a total of £344 throughout their lives on driving fines, with women only paying out £210.

On top of that, 46% of men said they had been caught speeding, compared to just a quarter of women.

The results also show that the vast majority of fines are generated by speeding and parking offences. When it came to parking, 36% of respondents said that they disobey parking rules deliberately and 34% admitted that they get confused by the rules.

The head of risk and underwriting at Esure, Mike Pickard, said that running a car can be a costly business, but it is made more so by picking up fines for driving offences. He also warned that offences are there “for a reason”, adding that “they are actions that put drivers and other road-users at risk.”