Almost half of UK police forces (48%) have caught motorists
driving over 90mph on 30mph roads – more than three times the
speed limit, new data analysed by the RAC reveals.*
A Freedom of Information request to the UK's 45 police forces
also found that, of the 40 with data, almost all (90%) had
clocked people driving at 60mph – more than twice the limit – on
these roads.
With the highest recorded speed on any road being 167mph on a
70mph stretch of the M1 by Leicestershire Police, the new RAC
study paints an alarming picture of the speeds some motorists
have been caught driving at. Looking at the largest difference
between the speed recorded and the posted limit, the highest
logged speed was 161mph on a 50mph eastbound stretch of the A303
in Somerset.
More than half of police forces (23, or 58%) recorded drivers
travelling in excess of 140mph. While most of these
contraventions were on 70mph motorway stretches, this wasn't
always the case. South Yorkshire Police clocked a driver at
146mph on a 50mph southbound stretch of the M1, while Police
Scotland detected someone driving at 148mph on a 60mph section of
the A68 in the Scottish Borders.
But perhaps most disturbing of all are the speeds some people are
prepared to drive at on 20mph and 30mph roads – those that are
far more likely to have high numbers of pedestrians, cyclists and
other vulnerable road users using them. South Yorkshire Police
recorded a speed of 122mph on a 30mph road, while North Wales
Police logged a vehicle being driven at 88mph on a 20mph road.
Both speeds are more than four times faster than the speed
limits.
In total, six-in-10 police forces (24) have caught motorists
driving over twice the speed limit on 20mph roads, with seven
recording speeds of more than 60mph.
Government data shows speed is the biggest factor reported in
fatal road collisions – it is a factor in 58% of fatalities, and
in 43% of road collisions of all severities. In 2023 speed
contributed to 888 fatalities, and 39,882 collisions of all
severities.**
RAC road safety spokesperson Rod Dennis said: “Although this data
is a snapshot, it shines a light on the incredibly dangerous
actions of a few, that are putting law-abiding road users at
serious risk. Thankfully, the police were on hand to catch these
drivers.
“There is no place for the vastly excessive speeds that some
people are prepared to drive. While some speeds were recorded in
the middle of the night when traffic will have been lighter, this
isn't always the case – some of the fastest drivers were clocked
at other times of day when they'd have been sharing the roads
with many others.
“Speed is the leading cause of deaths on UK roads. We look
forward to the Government's forthcoming road safety strategy
understanding what can be done to reduce such avoidable
casualties on the UK's roads.”
National Police Chiefs' Council lead for roads policing Chief
Constable Jo Shiner said: “We know that some incidents of going
over the speed limit can be genuine mistakes or errors but the
speeds cited here are clearly drivers taking deliberate decisions
to travel at excessive speeds, putting everyone at risk.
“Speed limits are set based on many factors including the road
layout, what's in the surrounding area and taking into account
where there might be more vulnerable road users. Choosing to
drive above those limits is reckless, selfish and completely
unacceptable.
“We all have a responsibility to keep each other safe and do
whatever we can to reduce the number of people killed and
seriously injured on our roads each day.”
, Mayor of the West
Midlands, said: “One life lost on our roads is one too many and
that's why I'm committed to Vision Zero. No more deaths on our
roads.
"Too many people are being killed or seriously injured and we
need to act now. I've launched a Road Safety Action Plan and
appointed the UK's first dedicated road safety commissioner, Mat
MacDonald, to make sure communities' voices are heard and real
action is taken to prevent more tragedies on our roads.”
The RAC's study on speeding – one of the so-called ‘Fatal Four'
behaviours that cause most fatal collisions on the roads*** –
follows its earlier work in January that identified a culture of speeding
among some drivers in the UK.
Ends
Notes to Editors
* Freedom of Information request by the RAC to all 45 UK
territorial police forces. 39 provided data, plus 1 that flagged
its online FOI database as part of its Public Access System. Data
covers a 20-month period incorporating all of 2023 and between
January and August 2024.
** Source: UK Department for Transport dataset: Reported road
collisions and casualties by severity, road safety factors and
road user type, Great Britain, 10 years up to 2023
*** The Fatal Four is a term used by police forces and the
National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) and covers the main causes
of fatal collisions in Great Britain: speeding, driving under the
influence of drink or drugs, not wearing a seatbelt and mobile
phone use. See https://news.npcc.police.uk/releases/fatal-4-behaviours-drive-up-road-collisions-by-20-percent-in-july
