A motorist is hit with a motoring-related fine every 2.5 seconds somewhere in the UK.

This is according to the RAC Foundation, which has published research claiming up to 12 million driving licence holders receive a penalty notice each year.

With 40 million motorists in the UK, this means that close to a third (30 per cent) of drivers are slapped with a penalty notice annually.

These fines can be a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) – issued for contravention of motoring law such as speeding – or a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN), which is a civil penalty often issued by councils for contravention of things like parking regulations.

Out of the 12 million penalty notices, eight million were local authority parking fines.

A further 2.5 million were fines for using a bus lane or blocking a box junction. One million were for speeding and running a red light, while 500,000 were late licensing and insurance penalties.

This 12 million figure does not take into account the 1.2 million drivers who opted to take a speed awareness course instead of pay a fine, nor does it include the five million penalties issued to drivers for parking on private land each year either.

Between 2010 and 2014, the number of dedicated police traffic officers fell by a quarter, but the number of penalty notices has increased; something the RAC Foundation puts down to the rise of speed cameras and automated systems on our roads.

Additionally, the cost of automated enforcement technology has dropped dramatically in the past 17 years. In 2000, it cost £1.5 million for a set of average speed cameras to cover a mile of road. Today, it is around £100,000.

Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said:  “While wrongdoing should be punished and not excused, a decline in frontline policing risks an imbalanced approach to enforcement.

“Millions of motorists are being caught by camera, often for arguably minor misdemeanours, whilst more serious and harmful behaviour goes undetected.”

Ben Robb, brand manager at The Fuelcard People, added: “Some bus lanes and box junctions are renowned money spinners, which frustrates motorists and degrades their role in enforcement and justice.

“If thousands of drivers a day are getting tickets at the same spot, this is a clear sign that a system is failing.”

Photo: hutchyb/iStock