The fourth speed trap

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Leadfooted drivers can now expect to have their wallets lightened substantially if they carry on with their fast driving ways.

There's now a fourth very good reason not to speed on Britain's roads - not only is there the greater risk of an accident, fines and points on your licence, but insurers have been found to frown on repeat offenders for years to come.

Two speeding convictions will typically raise your premiums by almost 25 per cent, and a six-month ban for speeding will send your renewal soaring by around 50 per cent, according to price comparison site moneysupermarket.com.

The only good news for drivers is that insurers will often look forgivingly on one speeding conviction. A whole-of-market analysis by moneysupermarket.com found 32 per cent of insurers don't punish one moment of carelessness at renewal time.

Endsleigh is one of the insurers that shows little tolerance when it comes to speeding, pushing up premiums by up to 74 per cent for the worst offenders.

Peter Gerrard, head of insurance research at moneysupermarket.com, said: "Speeding does increase accident rates so it's hardly surprising that insurers view it dimly. If you lose your licence speeding, you will have the expense and inconvenience of public transport, and then when you return behind the wheel you will be hit with greatly increased premiums for up to five years."

There is an even greater need to compare prices if you have speeding convictions. Those drivers with only one blemish need not suffer with about a third of providers not touching the premium, but serial speeders will find fewer providers willing to insure them and at increased prices.

Examples of higher paying drivers

For example, a 30 year old male who drives 12,000 miles a year in a reasonably sporty car, and has a 5 year no claims discount, would pay an average of 24% a year more in premiums if he had 6 points on his licence, and a whopping 50% more a year if he had a six month speeding ban.

For a similar female driver, the figures would be 23% and 47% respectively. This just proves that driving carefully, and safely, truly pays.