Thousands more drivers could be set to receive legal action as the Metropolitan Police have reduced their speed tolerance threshold, the RAC warns.

Drivers will now face prosecution if they break the limit by 10 per cent plus 2mph. The tolerance limit was previously 10 per cent plus 3mph.

The Metropolitan Police had not directly announced any rule changes to speed tolerance before they came into force.

In UK driving law, a speed tolerance means that a driver gets a small amount of leeway for driving over the limit before a camera activates and a driver is penalised.

The Met did state that no matter the threshold, all drivers should stick the speed limits and never exceed them.

According to a report from This Is Money, the new rules could result in more than 347,000 drivers being prosecuted for speeding between January and June this year.

This would be a 259 per cent increase compared to the six months before the new rules came into force.

The force said: “Posted speed limits are the maximum speed that road users should travel at any time irrespective of the speed threshold that police commence enforcement action.”

With thousands more drivers expecting to receive speeding fines, the RAC urges drivers to be aware of the tolerance changes.