Extreme Speeding Recorded on UK Roads by Almost Half of Police Forces

New data shows many drivers are speeding excessively. Police found drivers going over three times the speed limit. This happened on 30mph roads in nearly half the country. Ninety percent of police forces reported drivers at 60mph.

One driver hit 167mph on a 70mph section of the M1. This happened in Leicestershire. The biggest speed difference was 161mph over the limit. It occurred on a 50mph road in Somerset. South Yorkshire Police recorded 122mph in a 30mph zone.

North Wales Police saw 88mph in a 20mph zone. Both speeds are more than four times the limit. The RAC obtained this data from police forces. They used Freedom of Information requests. The data covered January 2023 to August 2024.

Forty-four of forty-five forces provided data. These speeds endanger other road users. Police caught these speeding drivers. Road safety is a major concern. Speeding is a big factor in fatal crashes.

Speed played a part in 58% of fatal collisions. It also contributed to 43% of all road collisions. Speed contributed to 888 deaths in 2023. Also, speed factored into 39,882 collisions. Driving above the speed limit is reckless. Such actions put everyone at risk.

The Department for Transport stated speeding is unacceptable. They relaunched their Think! campaign. The focus is on speeding, especially on rural roads.