Drivers convicted of serious speeding offences will be fined 150% of their weekly salary under tough new rules.
Penalties will be raised from the current 100% of weekly income as harsher sentences are introduced today.
It means, for example, someone who is sentenced for driving at 101mph or faster in a 70mph zone will now be dealt with in a more severe bracket.
The Sentencing Council said the move aims to ensure there is a “clear increase in penalty as the seriousness of offending increases”.
Magistrates are also being given new advice on how to approach animal cruelty.
For the first time additional aggravating factors of “use of technology to publicise or promote cruelty” and ‘”animal being used in public service or as an assistance dog” are being included - with the latter meaning police dogs or horses are specifically highlighted.
In another change conditional discharges will be included as a sentencing option in the least serious cases of TV licence payment evasion.
Under a conditional discharge the individual is not punished unless they commit another offence within a set period of time.
The inclusion of this outcome in the new guidelines formally sets out the option for magistrates not to issue a financial penalty for cases judged to be in the lowest level of offending.
Magistrates’ courts deal with more than one million offenders across England and Wales each year.
The new guidelines, which also cover railway fare evasion, truancy and being drunk and disorderly, aim to reflect changes in the law since the they were last updated in 2008.
District judge Richard Williams, a Sentencing Council member, said: “The magistrates’ courts deal with the vast majority of offenders in England and Wales, so it is essential that the guidelines they use are up to date and help ensure that sentences are applied consistently and effectively.”
Malcolm Richardson, national chairman of the Magistrates’ Association said the new guidelines “will further help ensure the consistent effectiveness of the magistracy”.
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