Nearly half of UK police forces (48%) have caught drivers speeding at over 90mph on 30mph roads – more than three times the limit, according to new data analysed by the RAC.
A Freedom of Information request to the UK’s 45 police forces found that, out of the 40 that responded, almost all (90%) had recorded speeds of 60mph or more on 30mph roads.
And it’s not just urban speeding that’s a problem. The highest recorded speed on any road was a staggering 167mph on the M1, according to Leicestershire Police. Meanwhile, Somerset officers clocked a driver doing 161mph on a 50mph stretch of the A303.
Over half of police forces (58%) caught drivers hitting speeds of 140mph or higher. While most of these were on motorways, some of the worst offenders were caught elsewhere. South Yorkshire Police recorded a driver at 146mph on a 50mph section of the M1, while Police Scotland caught someone doing 148mph on a 60mph stretch of the A68.
Some of the most dangerous speeding incidents happened on roads with lower limits – where pedestrians, cyclists, and other road users are most vulnerable. South Yorkshire Police clocked a driver at 122mph in a 30mph zone, while North Wales Police recorded 88mph in a 20mph zone. In total, six in ten police forces (24) have caught drivers doing more than twice the speed limit on 20mph roads, with seven forces reporting speeds over 60mph.
Government figures show that speed is the biggest factor in fatal crashes, contributing to 888 deaths and 39,882 crashes of all severities in 2023. Rod Dennis, a road safety spokesperson for the RAC, 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.”
This RAC study follows earlier research in January, which found that a culture of speeding still exists among some UK drivers.
