Research reveals drivers clocking twice the speed limit
New analysis has revealed that 70% of police forces caught drivers travelling more than twice the speed limit in 30mph zones last year.
A Freedom of Information request by the RAC also found that 271,341 drivers across 33 police forces were caught driving at 40mph or more on 30mph roads in 2025, with a further 32,548 drivers caught at 30mph or more on 20mph roads.
One driver was caught at 89mph on a 20mph road in Wales, with another clocked at 114mph on a 30mph road in Leicestershire.
The highest speed recorded was 161mph on the M6 in Shropshire, with other drivers caught at 160mph on the M6 in Cheshire, 158mph on the A14 in Suffolk and 155mph on the A38 in the West Midlands.
Chilling speeds
RAC senior policy officer Rod Dennis said: “Our analysis shows some of the frankly chilling speeds some people are prepared to drive at – and these are just the cases the police are aware of.
“The fact that some were recorded in residential areas, even near schools, in daytime hours when others might well have been using the roads, underlines just how dangerous this kind of behaviour is. Such roads will almost certainly be well used by pedestrians and cyclists, so it doesn’t bear thinking about what travelling at such high speeds could have led to.
“There is a lot of work to be done. It’s clear that some people remain oblivious to the incredibly severe risk that driving too fast poses. The latest official data shows there were more than 300 fatal collisions in just one year where speeding was a factor – tragedies which are entirely avoidable given speeding is a choice the driver makes.”
National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for roads policing Chief Constable Jo Shiner added: “The fact that a majority of drivers now believe there is a culture where speeding is acceptable reflects a deeply embedded issue in driver behaviour. We must reset expectations and make it clear that safe, lawful driving is a shared responsibility.”
