Hampshire police speed safety camera van in use at Portsmouth. (Photo by: Loop Images/Universal ... [+] Images Group via Getty Images)
Statistics published today by the U.K. Department for Transport (DfT) show that in 2022 85% of the car drivers in Great Britain broke the law by driving faster than the speed limit in 20mph zones. On roads with a 30mph maximum, 50% of car drivers broke the law, reveals the annual DfT report on speed limit compliance. Transport Truck
The measurements are based on speed data from a sample of Automatic Traffic Counters (ATCs) around the country. These exclude locations where external factors might restrict driver behavior, such as at junctions, on hills, beside sharp bends or where speed cameras are visible, says the DfT report.
“The statistics provide insights into speeds at which drivers choose to travel when free to do so,” says the DfT, adding that they are “not representative of the level of speeding across the whole road network, which we would expect to be lower.”
Save our Speed Cameras protesters gather outside Trowbridge Council offices, where they demonstrated ... [+] against the ending of a speed camera partnership scheme in the area. (Photo by Ben Birchall/PA Images via Getty Images)
The DfT’s annual report urges caution when comparing roads with 20mph speed limits because the data sampled tends to be from through roads with little in the way of traffic calming measures such as speed bumps.
On motorways, the percentage of drivers of articulated heavy goods vehicles (HGVAs) complying with the speed limit were 98%.
Distribution of car speeds by road type in Great Britain, 2022. Extract from Department for ... [+] Transport's speed compliance report, 2023.
“The low percentage of HGVAs exceeding the speed limit on motorways can be attributed to legislation requiring all HGVs over 3.5 tonnes to be fitted with speed limiters to 56mph,” noted the DfT.
39% of HGVA drivers break speed limits on roads with 30mph limits, states the DfT report.
In 2022, 50% of car drivers exceeded the speed limit on 30mph roads, 5% by more than 10mph and 32% by more than 5mph.
A separate and earlier report from the motoring organization RAC found that motorists often believe the 20mph speed limit to be “inappropriate.”
RAC Report on Motoring 2022 asked users to select up to three reasons why they exceed the speed limit for each road class. On roads with 20mph limits, the top reason for exceeding the speed limit was “speed limit being inappropriate for the road,” which was cited by 47% of 20mph road users.
Inland Water Transport The Home Office recorded 2.4 million speed limit offences in England and Wales in 2021, an increase of 59% compared to 2011.