A new study from insurer Direct Line found that half of UK drivers think that speeding is acceptable and the majority of those spoken to admitted to speeding. The survey spoke to 2,000 motorists and found that 50% of them saw nothing wrong in speeding. It begs the question, does the UK have a problem with speeding and are we choosing to ignore it as a nation?
Surprising results
The Direct Line survey also showed that 78% of drivers admitted to speeding at some point, with 5% saying that they break the law every time that they get behind the wheel. Some of the most common ‘acceptable’ speeding offences include doing 79mph in a 70mph zone, 56mph in a 50mph zone and 26mph in a 20mph zone.
The impressions of what is ‘okay’ regarding speeding is conveyed in the stats for people with speeding fines. The survey found that nearly two-fifths of the drivers said they had a speeding conviction and the most common of these were for doing 37mph in a 30mph zone and 61mph in a 50mph area.
When asked why they had broken the speed limit, just over half of the survey group (51%) said that it was because they were unaware of how fast they were travelling. Another third (34%) said that they were purposefully speeding because the roads were empty. And 19% said the reason was that they were running late, 14% said they were caught out in an area they thought didn’t have speed cameras.
A growing problem
Speeding is apparently a growing problem around the UK. According to the latest stats released towards the end of last year, a total of 1.97 million fixed penalty notices were issued in 2016, a rise of 25,000 on the previous year and a massive 107,000 on the 2014 figure.
It means that one in three UK motorists are being fined every year, mostly due to the rising number of automated speed cameras around the UK. The figures also include the people who opt to do speed awareness courses rather than accept fines and points on their license. Of the total number, nearly half of those picked the course route rather than paying a fine.
Speeding hotspots
There are also regional differences around speeding fines with hotspots being highlighted around the UK. Research from UK Carline in January this year looked at speeding offences based on police force areas as well as top speeds that drivers were caught doing.
It found that West Yorkshire had the highest number of speeding tickets issued in 2017 at 142,000 followed by Surrey at 62,000 and West Mercia at a similar figure. The City of London constabulary distributes the lowest number of speeding tickets at just over 3,100, but this may be more due to the nature of the capital’s roads and traffic than anything else.
West Yorkshire also hold the record for the highest speed with a driver caught doing 160mph on the motorway – the driver was 90mph above the speed limit. Drivers were recorded at 150mph in Surrey and Kent as well as just below this in Lincolnshire and Dundee.
Perhaps even more frightening was some of the recorded speeds in 30mph zones. The highest was in Dundee at 106mph followed by West Yorkshire at 102mph and Dorset at 96mph. It shows that being in residential areas does seem to deter some drivers from exceeding the speed
Why we speed
The disregard for the rules around speeding is an interesting one. We all know that going too fast increases the chance of an accident and can lead to injury or even death. But other factors encourage us to put aside these concerns and press down on the accelerator.
Some of the reasons that people give for speeding shows the pressure of life sometimes gets the better of us. A survey by Aviva last year showed that everything from running late for work to being pressured by aggressive drivers behind us results in us speeding. Distractions such as music or children can also mean we don’t realise we are breaking the law.
Another strong reason for speeding is that we believe we are safe, competent drivers. A Safe Driving Survey from 2016 found that 8 out of 10 motorists thought they were safe drivers. The Thames Valley Police said that 95% of all road crashes are due to human error. So, do we believe we are safer on the road and better drivers than we are?
Other reasons for speeding
As cars become more and more technology orientated and more is done for us without thinking about it, there is a danger that we naturally become too dependent on tech. It can result in being reliant on safety features, warning lights and little beeps to tell us when something is wrong. It is referred to as behavioural adaptation. It means we are adapting to letting the car do more thinking for us and failing to monitor ourselves as much – hence speeding without realising.
The final point from the psychology side is known as the Ripple Effect. You are at a traffic light, and just before it turns green, someone behind hits the horn. You feel cross and pull away at high speed to get away from them. Their behaviour has had a ripple effect on your own and caused you to speed.
Speed limits for a reason
We all know that speed limits can be frustrating and speed cameras a menace. But it is easy to forget that they are often there to protect us and others around us. For example, 20-30mph limits are usually in residential areas, around schools and hospitals where a slower speed could result in saving someone’s life if there is an accident.
Motorways may seem to be a ‘safer’ place to speed because there are fewer fatalities and accidents than normal roads, but this relies on our skill as drivers which may not be as universal as we believe. And the higher the speed, the higher the risk of severe injury or death if there is an incident. In 2016, there were 229 deaths on the roads involving a speeding vehicle and another 1,549 people seriously injured, motorway accidents formed less than 20% of that figure, but had a much higher fatality rate compared to normal road accidents.
Smart motorways are the latest weapon aimed at catching out drivers who speed, what many drivers don’t realise is that smart motorway cameras are on all the time and not just during times when there are speed limits on the boards above lanes. While it may seem like they have been created to catch drivers out who speed, its actually to prevent accidents from happening by actively encouraging drivers to lower average speed and managing congestion more effectively during busy times.
Do you agree that we have a problem with speeding in the UK or are the speed limits too slow? Do you think further measures such as smart motorways are the right way to go or is average speed cameras a better approach? Let us know in the comments below.
My entire London borough has had imposed upon it a limit of 20mph. (This was after a fraudulent ‘democratic’ exercise) The police have said that they are not prepared to enforce this limit – the courts as well as the police would grind to a halt under the volume of paper. In most roads parked vehicles as well as weight of traffic make it impossible to travel any faster than 20-25mph. Is there any sense in the limit the council have imposed? Am I adding greater risk to anyone’s life and well-being by ignoring the artificially lowered limit?
Yes you are simply put. You can get away with these as any other offences 9 times out of 10, what it takes these days as in most things the attitudes of most drivers is thus. I did it properly for an hour and passed, now I can do as I like. Notably this attitude only seems to change when you’re the one involved in an accident. But hey maybe if everyone on the road had the same attitude and speeds in areas that have reduced speed limits it will soon reduce the amount of cars on our roads, and the idiots with no common sense, because most will be dead from crashing their cars or in prison from killing somebody. Cars are an important part of most peoples lives, and speed limits are there to protect not only other road users, they are in place to protect you too. we all hear the examples of speed on hitting a pedestrian, just think about the few mph over the speed limit you are doing and about the car coming towards you also ignorant of their excessive speed, this collision would probably be unavoidable, but instead of having your engines in the drivers compartments, just maybe if the rules of the road including speed limits were adhered to then just maybe the worse would probably be a couple of dents and the odd smashed headlight.
This article is nothing more than a propaganda exercise in support of the government’s flawed rules and ‘beliefs’ on speeding. The author says “We all know that going too fast increases the chance of an accident”; if she actually looked at the national accident statistics, rather than just listening to the spin that’s put on them by the government, she would see that speed in excess of the posted limit is rarely (approx 5%) shown as a contributory factor in RTCs. The government lump a load of other contributory factors in with that to try to demonise speeding, yet one of the most common ones lumped is “failed to judge the speed of another vehicle”. That’s clearly not a speed issue; that’s about competence, observation and anticipation, extremely important features of driving that are being forgotten about in the relentless campaign against speeding.
Now toddle off and write something with information of value in it.
Great Britain and England have the second safest roads in Europe. Beaten only by Norway and equal second with Sweden, we can’t be that bad. Figures based on 2014 figures.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/323869/international-and-uk-road-deaths/
Speed limits may be there for a reason but that reason is often nothing to do with safety. You say ‘For example, 20-30mph limits are usually in residential areas, around schools and hospitals where a slower speed could result in saving someone’s life if there is an accident’ This is not true in Edinburgh where almost all roads, whether residential or not, have 20 mph limits which are absurdly low. If councils have daft speed limits they must expect us to rebel by speeding. We can reduce speeding by making the limits sensible.
Well of course following that argument, you could bring back the man with the red flag that had to walk in front of every mechanically propelled vehicle, effectively a universal speed limit of 4mp;h. despite the fact that you could be hit by a carriage and 4 doing nearly 20 mph!
Speed limits need to be appropriate. They tend to make people drive at the limit, even when a slower speed might be more suitable for the conditions.
These are false arguments. The 20mph needs to be when the children are about – which is not 2am in the middle of August!! Many counties have the 20mph applied when it is necessary usually ‘when the lights flash’. This makes sense and puts a reason in for the speed limit.
So while I absolutely agree with you that speed by a school kills, that there should be a 20 mph around schools, that speed does kill, if there is such concern a simple way is to put a half mile corden around the school so that no one can park near the school and all parents and children have to walk the last half a mile, leaving the roads very visible and children very visible to all who use the roads. Clearly for disabled parents or children parking facility’s would be available nearer, but only on evidence.
They have done this in Lincoln around one school but i have not seen this done in Corfe Mullen. Also if there is such a concern at 30mph why don’t the authorities stop pavement parking and make it safer for pedestrians. I have to walk on the road when I walk my dog. My friend got run over in his wheelchair because he had to use the road, adding insult to injury as he was knocked off his motor bike by car driver who failed to see him and emerged from a junction due to parked vehicles on the pavements. But no despite numerous emails and telephone calls to my council and mp, and police I just get fobbed off there is nothing we can do….. I do not believe safety is in the minds of those setting speed limits. If it was all the above would be in place.
So while I absolutely agree with you that speed kills, why is there not a 20 mph around ALL schools, and if there is such concern a simple way is to put a half mile corden around the school so that no one can park near the school and all parents and children have to walk the last half a mile, leaving the roads very visible and children very visible to all who use the roads. Clearly for disabled parents or children parking facility’s would be available nearer, but only on evidence.
They have done this in Lincoln around one school but i have not seen this done in Corfe Mullen. Also if there is such a concern at 30mph why don’t the authorities stop pavement parking and make it safer for pedestrians enabling them to be seen, I have to walk on the road when I walk my dog or I carry the dog and climb over the cars. I prefer the easy way, less likely to harm myself. My friend got run over in his wheelchair because he had to use the road, adding insult to injury as he was knocked off his motor bike by car driver who failed to see him while it was emerge from a junction – due to parked vehicles on the pavements. No the council are simply not interested and despite numerous emails and telephone calls to my council and mp, and police I just get fobbed off there is nothing we can do….. I do not believe safety is in the minds of those setting speed limits. If it was all the above would be in place.
Agree. People assume that doing 10% over the limit is what the police allow!. Due to almost total lack of traffic police, people have got away with it over the last eight years and has become the accepted norm.It will take a strong, strict response to change it. Australia is very strict and you see a big presence. Sadly speeding is part of a selfish attitude which has permeated our society and encouraged by this government, where driving standards have deteriorated hugely.. The knock-on effect is higher pollution, more deaths and accidents impacting on hospitals. What’s needed! Yes more smart cameras {great around Nottinghams ring road}, greater police presence, unmarked police cars, automatic increases of insurance premiums for speeding and television advertising aimed at children in order to shame their parents. Today’s speeders are training the next generation!
I decided about twenty years ago that it was too stressful and completely unnecessary to speed. Ironically on that very first week, I got a speeding ticket because I was harrassed by a large vehicle behind , and as a typical male, responded the wrong way, accelerated and got the ticket.
It’s so much easier to make yourself leave earlier, use cruise control, give yourself plenty of space and enjoy a relatively comfortable journey.
Remember please, to change a habit takes approx three weeks of conscious effort for it to sink in.
Speed limits may be there for a reason but that reason is often nothing to do with safety. You say ‘For example, 20-30mph limits are usually in residential areas, around schools and hospitals where a slower speed could result in saving someone’s life if there is an accident’ This is not true in Edinburgh where almost all roads, whether residential or not, have 20 mph limits which are absurdly low. If councils have daft speed limits they must expect us to rebel by speeding. We can reduce speeding by making the limits sensible.
If anything all smart motorways do is cause congestion and accidents
There is confusion about the actual speed based on the perception that every vehicle’s speedometer is set 10% higher. Therefore you know that when your speedometer reads 77, you are actually doing 70. And when it reads 55 you’re doing 50. Could this be a factor also?
I have a satnav, whick shows when my speedo is registering 72 I’m actually doing 70. Most, if not all cars are regulated to be slightly over, in order to protect the motorist. I would be amazed if they were regulated at 10% over. Would suggest you get one!
10% is the maximum error (the law does recognise that speedometer is not perfect), not the typical. Its quite common for modern cars to exaggerate slightly – in my experience, 5% is more common.
As an Edinburgh resident, I wholeheartedly concur with Simon’s remarks above. The blanket application of the 20mph limit was and is a total nonsense. I have no problem with obeying the 20mph speed limit in school vicinities when the lights are flashing during lunchtime and leaving time, and have no sympathy with drivers who get penalised for ignoring these limits, but there are stretches of road in Edinburgh where it makes no sense whatsoever to impose a 20mph limit.
I believe it is actually counter-productive, since being in a queue of traffic with the front car meticulously observing the 20mph limit can lead to potentially risky overtaking from the frustrated drivers behind.
I would have been happy with, and observed, a 25mph limit on certain roads, but the blanket 20mph limit is ridiculous.
The lower speed limits found in residential areas are mostly appropriate and would be the maximum chosen by competent drivers, open road limits however , serve only to dull the senses causing a loss of concentration, thus an increase in accidents. The real purpose of them is to facilitate control of the populace, and raise funds.
1.97 million fixed penalty’s at £100 a pop you do the maths!!! Governments are rubbing their hands….easy money in fact their probably looking to increase this as it’s a great way to boost the coffers. All this money and our roads are c**p especially up here in Scotland. The slower the limit the frustration is higher that’s the reason for speeding not folk breaking the law.
The A9 in Scotland is a perfect example, average speed cameras all the way,I was behind two lorries that are only allowed to do 50mph and to overtake them I had to break the speed limit, it was done safely and in control I was caught doing 70 and got done. Fixed penalty £100 and 3 points. It’s the government restricting the lorries to 50 that’s to blame. Definitely a cash making business.
My experience re speed, is drivers that go far too slow and go nowhere the speed limit on roads that is impossible to pass them. Gets one frustrated. These drivers I believe cause accidents making people to take chances in overtaking them. To add to this one has to exceed the speed limit to safely pass these drivers.. Southern Ireland the speed limit on motorways is 120 kph,,, converted is 75mph, I think the UK needs to raise the limit on Motorways to 75mph.. City centres i think should be reduced to 25 mph from 30 mph. Some city centres have it reduced to 20 mph !!!!!!
Although i am past my half century and not often on motorways or driving on unfamiliar roads, one thing i’ve noticed is that it’s seems more common that motorway signage is out of sync with traffic flows..! ie; stating there is an accident reducing speeds to 50 or 40 mph with no incident in sight for a mile or two then the signs display 70 again, or no indication of speeds. It’s no wonder motorists ignore signs when this sort of thing happens more often than not. Also speed limits are changed by local authorities without enough signage clearly displaying a change in speed… so even up to date sat navs are displaying a higher speed for that section of road than is permitted. I am convinced these speed limits are created, not to reduce accidents but to raise revenues, And now the new lanes closures marked with a red X on gantry signs and automatic cameras to catch people out are another revenue builder when no incident is found so drivers feel they cannot trust road signs. I believe every sign operator should be held accountable and suffer a fine or be demoted should they become the perpetrators of these practices, because their are the cause of 90% of loutish behavior of those who intend to break road laws, as well as those who inadvertently get caught out by poorly placed or miss used signage.
Travelled about 10 miles on the M25 around midnight last night at 40mph! eventually there were some roadworks for half a mile. A 1 mile warning of lane closure would have been sufficient at that time of night. The people operating the gantries are clearly either badly trained or poorly managed!
Suitable road signs are illuminated close to, but at a safe distance from an incident. Signs further back are then populated automatically by the system itself, the operator has no control over what has been programmed into the system.
Would agree there is more speeding because there are more and more illogical speed limits. I have to attend another speed awareness course because I was doing 58 mph in a 50mph on a dual carriageway, with no houses nearby or buildings.
I would apologise for this error however on revisiting the road I noted that it goes from a 70mph dual carriageway to a 60mph, (I had clocked this change) and then probably less than 1/2 mile later the speed changed again to 50mph, in driving terms less than 10secs or so) and where were the change signs? On the level with a slip road that was joining the main carriageway. So drivers being an observant persons would be looking to the left to ensure the slip road is clear and would possibly miss the change of sign, as I did because I was being overtaken by a lorry and another lorry was coming up the slip road. Hence my speed was aiming at 60mph not 50 mph, with the mobile speed camera a few 100 metres up the road there was no time for me to have seen another repeat sign, in fact they were positioned in front of one, which was for me, a MONEY exercise not one of safety. I remember the lorries as the road otherwise had been quiet of commercial traffic, I remember thinking how ironic it was I was in the process of being sandwiched between two at the same time. So from my 55mph I increased to 60mph dropping slightly once the vehicle on the slip road had room to enter the dual carriage way behind me. I just seem to be very unfortunate, I am not a speeder, I am a quiet law abiding woman of 62 who follows rules and laws, but on the occasional time when I fail to notice the change in speed limit I can guarentee I will be caught. Friends who drive me around at frightening speeds, have unblemished licenses because they have all the gizmos to slow them down at the right moment.
And now the stupidity of speed limits.
We have a lane behind me that is a national speed limit where children cycle and horse riders go, a narrow lane with houses off to one side and roads joining this lane, trees and bushes obscuring the view of a motorist, where I walk my dog, risking life and limb. We have a normal road going past houses with roads leading off to housing estates that is a 40mph, (where I have witnessed three accidents as part of the road is down hill but no speed cameras there, then we have a dual carriageway that is perfectly safe with no reason to be a 40mph but it is, and it goes on, there is absolutely NO RYHTHM or REASON to our speed limits, perhaps if there were some logic, it would be that drivers pay attention to them. Often where I live road signs are obscured by bushes, and trees. I am constantly telling the council our road signs are unreadable. Faded, to the point of just being blank. There are road works which have finished but someone forgot to remove the temporary speed limits, we have one road like this and all week there has been a 30mph sign under a 40 mph sign, so what speed is that??
Some areas would benefit by having their speed limits dropped. However, I feel that motorway speed limits are too low. 80mph would be adequate, BUT, enforce the 80 so people don’t do an automatic 10% increase! Also if Lane discipline was better it would cause less problems. I have just returned from the Middle East where lorries are only allowed in the inside lane. If we could enforce this, say at rush hour, or when traffic is heavier than usual, I believe that more people would reduce their speeding knowing that they aren’t going to get held up by heavy traffic.
That 10% is there for a reason. No car is guaranteed to be doing the speed that the speedometer indicates.. No manufacturer makes speedos that show them going faster than they are, they all have to err on the side of complying with the law by under-reading. If their speedos over-read then they could easily be sued by drivers who get caught speeding unjustifiably.
Speeding in the village where I live is rife.
I often see vehicles, not only cars but lorries, juggernauts, buses and even non-emergency police cars exceeding the speed limit by far.
I estimate some cars are travelling through the 30mph limit in my village at between 50 and 60mph.
Crossing the road is embracing danger.
The problem these days of course is that because of lack of resources in the Police Force, the situation – like lots of other crimes – cannot be policed.
It’s okay for the Government to introduce new driving laws – but when there isn’t the resources so enforce existing laws – it makes me wince.
This is a bad situation, no doubt about it and I agree that there are way too few traffic police on the roads, these days.
Speed cameras?
Every one thinks that they are a safe driver but we ALL make mistakes. It is far easier to correct your own mistakes or to avoid other peoples if you are going slower.
We all think that we are a safe driver but we all make mistakes at times. It is far easier to correct your mistakes or avoid others at a lower speed.
This is true – however do we make the mistakes because the speed is too slow and our concentration wanders
I think average speed cameras seem to stop speeding. Speeding is not acceptable. A notice that there is a camera can make a driver who is speeding in middle lane suddenly slow down and move into inner lane and slow to under 70 miles an hour which is dangerous. I therefore like to have an atlas to show me where speed cameras are because this hazard occurs. Average speed cameras do not cause this.
Speed doesn’t kill, – bad driving does, at any speed. If the limit is 10mph & you do 12, – you’re speeding. Does anyone actually know the people who set limits, & what basis they impose them on? I got caught by a ‘tax-van’ in the midlands when driving at 60 on a wide dual-carriageway in the countryside with no other traffic near me. The limit had been set at 50mph for some obscure reason. It was an unusual thing to be able to drive at anywhere near 60 because one is normally trying to avoid the holes in the road which councils, etc. won’t repair, even with all the money they take from drivers.
As a road safety professional for over 30 years I can tell them that 50% of divers are wrong. Let them see some of the photos of the aftermath of speeding that I see and they might think again. What needs to happen is that mobile speed cameras should be allowed to be deployed anywhere at any time, covertly or otherwise, so that these selfish idiots risk getting caught if they speed anywhere. The number of life changing injuries and fatalities each year in the UK is a national scandal and no-one much seems to care. If it was a terrorist attack or a rail crash with that scale of carnage then we would be having public inquiries or bombing raids. Every time you hear on a traffic flash that a road has been closed due to a police incident remember that it is highly likely to be because some poor sod has been killed and the police have closed it for a forensic examination prior to a coroner’s inquest. Might make you think before you press that accelerator.
Photographs of the aftermath of RTI are available on the internet, so are videos of drivers who think the road is a race track – these are the ones we need to hammer. By all means promote covert speed cameras – but they will be where you will tend to speed up unless you watch your speedo like a hawk and not the road. You are a professional and I respect that, but what did you drive? Lorry, taxi, white van? A whole different ball game. I too have been driving for many years, sometimes 30,000 miles a year and I thought I had seen it all until yesterday when we were doing 60/70 in 3 lanes on the A19 and a motorcycle came through treating the other vehicles like slalom poles going so fast I could not read the number plate. Covert cameras will get you, not idiots like this.
A better scheme is to give us all satnavs and GPS with speed limits programmed in so our speed is reduced to the legal speed automatically. The technology is there, but speeding is too lucrative to put ‘safety’ before money.
Speeding is a form of anarchy, possilly the lowest level, rules are rules, we should all strive to comply to the best of our ability. Traffic flowing at the same speed would reduce the collision rate, dramatically. Errant drivers sadly attract attention to themselves, be it by camera, or police patrol ( as in the good old days) when discretion was the norm.
The main issue seems to be the wholesale introduction of inappropriately low speed limits on many roads. For decades, speed limits have been set using the 85th percentile rule, i.e the speed that 85% of the traffic would travel at or below if there were no speed limit. If the limit is set substantially lower (or higher) than this, drivers’ attention can wander because they are concentrating more on their speedometers than the traffic around them. Recently, the mean traffic speed has been used, resulting in many reductions of perfectly safe limits. Most motorists are law-abiding citizens, but local authorities seem to be making it deliberately difficult to even know what the limit is. Yes, there are few motorists who drive at 150 mph on the motorway or 60-70 mph in built up areas, but they would travel at these speeds regardless of the speed limit. Let the local authorities put their houses in order by getting the speed limits right in the first place, before criticising motorists for exceeding them.
Totally agree Phil. If an unrealistic limit is set, for example 30 on a long, wide, open dual carriageway, most will ignore it.
It’s mainly because the speed limits are too low. The police say blanket 20 mph cities are wrong; but it happens anyway. New dual-carriageways open with 50 mph limits (that get ignored, rightly).
Lower speed-limit roads need less maintenance (by law). So speed limits are not set purely for safety; they’re set (too low) for cost reasons; then they wonder why people ignore the falsely low low limit?
That’s an interesting point about road condition. The state of the roads in London reminds me of the roads in rural France & Spain some time ago. There is no evidence of any attempt to repair the roads which are the council responsibility. So that might explain the idiotic 20mph limit. As I said in my previous post the limit was imposed after a ‘democratic’ exercise in which fewer than 2% voted at all. While the rate of RTCs was not noticeably higher before the change nor the rate of pedestrian injuries reportedly lower afterwards it must save the councils a wedge by reducing wear ‘n’ tear.
Yes I agree totally
We have lost respect for others because we are frustrated with road authorities lack of respect for us. We pay ever increasing taxes on motoring, it must be a mouth watering amount and yet we still have congestion, pot holes etc etc. As soon as we enter the metal cage we change our personality. Aggression replaces care. Is the joy of driving to be lost for ever?
I am a Ton up kid. When on my motorbike I will do more than 100mph for the fun of it. I only do it for a short time, so I don’t get caught. I always slow down for the built up areas and normally stay under the speed limit, especially in the car, which is a bigger lethal weapon. 20mph zones are a good idea.
Yes, we do have a problem with speeding in the UK but this has been going on for many years. I live in Lincolnshire where the roads are conducive to putting your foot down in a clear run, frequently. The temptation is to exceed the road limit. From the stats you show, it seems as the more expensive the area, the higher the speeds – expensive, faster cars? As an Advanced Motorist with over 55 years driving experience, I probably have unknowingly added up to 5 miles per hour on such roads but as soon as aware, quickly foot off the accelerator. That’s another thing. Drivers only need to do that when approaching bends and junctions, then get into lower gear, not ram their foot on the brakes! Sometimes some gentle braking may be necessary. Some rural villages have “Your Speed” signs which I hope encourages people to take more notice. This could be used much more widely.
I do travel on motorways. I think the speed limit could be increased to 80mph but with heavier penalties for exceeding, in an upward scale.
Those “your speed” signs and the stupid smiley and sad face ones in particular are DANGEROUS! They’re yet another distraction to the driver and patronising in addition! Such things should be banned!!!
Speed limits need to be variable. A limit may be appropriate at busy times but is pointless when roads are nearly deserted such as Sundays, late at night, or when schools are closed, etc.
If a speed limit appears pointless drivers will ignore it.
It has been shown that 20 mph speed limits do not improve safety for pedestrians. All they achieve is an increase in pollution and loss of attention from drivers who may well be staring at their speedo instead of the road ahead. So that limit is counterproductive and that has been shown by various studies – but they get hidden away as they don’t meet the perceptions of the bureaucrats and councils imposing the dangerously slow limits.
Some drivers seem to think it is acceptable to speed – it is not! Just as it is not acceptable to hog the middle lane on motorways. The standard of driving in the UK has got much worse in recent years. So may fail to obey the rules, such as HC 114, and have loads of lights on when it’s bright sunlight so you can’t see their indicators – it they use them!
Speed doesn’t kill bad driving does! There are times when 70 mph on a dry night is too slow and other times when it is wet and visibility is poor that it is far too fast. If everyone drove to the road conditions I could argue there would be no need for speed limits
Totally Agree!
speeding & bad driving go together. Speeders are just uncaring selfish tossers. Try working in a ICU to see the truth of this…..
Many speed limits are without apparent reason – putting a speed limit on a road does not make the road itself safer, it makes the outcome of travelling down the road less likely to be a disaster for someone. How many pedestrians step out in front of road vehicles? I’ve done it myself? How many cyclists cycle the wrong way down a one-way street with no lights at night and hands off the handlebars? Saw one yesterday! How many motorcyclists weave in and out of the traffic at speed (and I mean like a slalom course? I saw one yesterday! The car driver gets blamed for it all and penalised for the sake of the idiots who never will obey a speed limit.
Sorry that you see human carnage in ICU – let’s get the idiots, not penalise the many. We need a national review of speed limits with published criteria for imposing a speed limit – and ‘there have been a lot of RTIs here’ will not do – the question WHY needs to be properly asked and answered.
Just last night, at twilight, in Darlington, I saw a young male riding a bike. No lights on at all and quite incredulously, driving on the wrong side of a twisting 50mph dual carriageway, in what was their overtaking lane. I wondered how to alert oncoming drivers on the other side of the road but decided that flashing oncoming drivers would be dangerous. I thought to myself that there may well be a death tonight.
The dual carriageway in question is very short, just under half a mile. By the time the police would have arrived, he would probably be long gone. Maybe onto the 70mph A1(M). There is no report of an accident in today”s news websites, thank goodness.
Yes we do have a speeding issue, especially on motorways, where there are road works and there are 50 mph signs and speed cameras you still get the speeding drivers coming up behind and expecting you to go quicker. Even when you are in the outside lane and the 50 limit applies to all lanes. I’m overtaking slower traffic whilst still doing 50 mph. I have every right to stick to the limit rules are rules and I don’t want to loose my licence because I drive for a living, if they don’t like the fact I’m sticking to the limit. Go a different way where you can lose your licence
I find it increasingly difficult to know what speed limit is being applied unless I know the area. Especially at night in suburban areas full of signage when looking for directions it is easy to miss one.
Where I live there is a favourite spot where the limit reduces from 50 to 30 for no obvious reason and the foliage largely obscures the limit sign.
With some cameras making £100,000s/year in fines it is obvious they are not to promote safety, the hazard the camera was monitoring would be eliminated if safety were the objective. Limits need to be logical to be respected.
Road conditions dictate what maximum speed is safe & this varies constantly on every road. Fixed speed limits therefore should refect a maximum speed for that road in good conditions which will be less as conditions vary. This means trusting us to drive safely according to the road conditions but in fact we are not trusted. Unfortunately thet maximum is often reduced to the point that there are many times during the day & especially at night, when it is perfectly safe to drive faster; hence the limit becomes discredited & ignored. There are dual carriagways that were once 70mph that have more recently been designated 50mph or even 40mph & the councillors deciding all this are not exactly experts, often just following government guidelines leading to speed reductions that defy common sense. It must be remembered that most accidents are not caused by speed & yet this is constantly focused upon. Distractions cause most accidents & I would include speed cameras which at the very least take your eyes off the road to check the speedometer but also when a camera is seen, there is a tendency to automatically brake whatever speed you are doing [just in case you are over the latest ever lower limit] with the possible result that the car behind who hasn’t yet seen the speed camera hits you because he wasn’t expecting you to brake.
Why do people speed? In the old days of Ford Anglia’s and so on, 50 seemed so fast…
A modern car has no perception of speed, people get caught out without being aware, they’ve lost the rattles and so on, that give the clues…
Ok, speed itself is not dangerous, it’s the misuse of speed that can kill so quickly.
So what’s the answer, FPNs and fines? Not enough – how about letting the insurance companies do the job, get a speeding ticket, lose your No Claims, or worse, add a relative % to the cost of insurance, 30% increase first offence, refusal of insurance for subsequent tickets?
Now, that would surely make them ask, is speed worth it…….
Hi Bill,
1. In 1968, my old 1963 Ford Anglia managed to to do 70+ mph.
2. As you (and many of the comments on this page) state, ‘Speed’ is not the problem, it is the inappropriate use of speed (or bad driving) that causes accidents; increasing penalties for the many drivers who inadvertently exceed the speed limit will not make bad drivers improve their driving, better training and testing will. For, at least, the last 40 years drivers have been taught to pass the driving test and not taught to drive properly.
3. Speed cameras are not about safety now, they are just Tax Collectors for the government; they will not stop bad driving (calling or texting on a hand-held mobile phone, driving whilst under the influence of drink or drugs, driving whilst medically unfit, etc.), only patrol cars will catch them.
Part 2
4. Cars have got safer since the 1960’s; they handle better, steer better and brake better but conversely, speed limits have got lower. Perhaps it is the other road users (pedestrians and cyclists) who need to improve their act.
I never speed in 20 Mph, 30Mph zones etc as the limits are there for very good reasons, i.e roads which are not motorways.
But on motorways I sometimes drive over 70 mph as the limit is a limit from the past, how can the French, Germans etc be allowed to drive at much faster speeds than us, we are quite capable too. In Germany I used to drive legally at 110 MPH with no problem.
So the arbitrary limit of 70 MPH in the UK is just plain daft and should be ignored and as far as I can see is ignored by most drivers.
Me to, but kept to their 25 and 30 kph in towns
John
True and at pedestrian crossing people never crossed when the “red man” was displayed even though there was no traffic for 200 yards in each direction.
Oh and the car wash automats were closed on public holiday too, even machines had days off. LOL
Speed per say is not necessarily the issue – innapropriate speed for the conditions definitely is.
A lot of drivers see the speed limit, be it 30, 50 or 70mph as a target – it can often be unsafe to drive at 30mph in a road that has that limit!being aware of the road scene and condtions is the key to reducing risk.
Speed limits are not always safe limits. A driver is expected to take account of the prevailing conditions e.g. weather, road surface, traffic, pedestrians, visibilty etc., etc. and adjust their speed accordingly often to one lower than the posted speed limit and indeed stop if necessary. However for some reason drivers are not expected to be able to judge if it is safe to exceed a speed limit.
I accept that there needs to be some method of restraining the worst excesses of speed but I would appreciate a more honest approach that states that many drivers are not sufficiently trained to judge or possibly capable of judging appropriate speed and therefore blanket limits are imposed. Logically these are set for the worst conditions and the worst standard of driving. The truth of this can be seen in the limits themselves, 20, 30, 40, 50 etc. Surely if limits were set for the particular circumstances of a road we would see limits at 25, 41, 43, or any number because that was a considered decision not just that it has to end in a nought.
There are certainly a lot of inappropriate speed limits like an open road in the country with no buildings or hazards & which used to be 50mph, which is reasonable & is now 40mph. Many drivers don’t stick to 40 mph because it doesn’t make sense, so what’s the point of setting it at 40mph?
When there is a limit out in the country of say 50, then there is an impression given that someone has inspected this road and decided that 50 is a ruling speed on the road – drivers of course should not think this way, but what is then the speed limit for? Not to make a ‘dangerous’ road safer, because we should all drive to the conditions; however when there is a 50 limit, then that is part of the conditions that we are driving under – is it not?
In Scotland, the speed cameras are usually on the only straight stretches of roads where overtaking is possible. So you are in a sitting in a queue of traffic at 50mph, the limit is 60 but to pass the other cars you must pass as quickly as possible to be safe. I believe in France they have a time limit. So you can not overtake as it’s likely you will be slightly over the 60 at the sped camera position. If the put them in Villages or towns that would be sensible, not on the only safe places to overtake.
If I speed it’s usually because the limit is unreasonably low for the road. Around where I live, more and more speed limits have been introduced and existing ones lowered in recent years despite there being no change in the road conditions. Some of the 20mph limits are ridiculous.
Speeding is a complicated issue. Maybe technology could be used to vary speed limits at different times of the day, as while 30mph on a road where is school is situated could be considered too fast at 3.30pm, but at 2am, 50mph may be fine. Currently the speed limit doesn’t alter, but maybe it should.
One of the problems with speeding is largely due to modern vehicles. With today’s cars, which are often capable of well over 100mph, judging the difference between 25 & 35mph requires constant checking of the speedometer, which means taking your eyes off the road more often. I often drive old London buses with a top speed of about 40mph, and when driving one of these I can judge my speed to within 2mph easily, without taking my eyes off the road, but when I drive my own car I find I have to constantly check my speedo to stay below 30mph and even more often if I have to stay below 20mph. When I started driving, most cars couldn’t do much more than 65mph, and judging 30mph was very easy. The noise and vibration at 40mph was much greater than at 30mph, whereas with a modern vehicle the difference is barely noticeable, without constantly checking the speedo. Consequently I believe that many people speed without meaning to.
mikeB has it right – ‘Speed doesn’t kill bad driving does!’ and Speed Cameras will not stop bad driving (calling or texting on a hand-held mobile phone, driving whilst under the influence of drink or drugs, driving whilst medically unfit, etc.). Some drivers are unsafe at any speed; e.g, jumping on the brakes at 40 mph for a gentle bend, that could easily be taken at 60 mph, on a national speed limit road.
There are 60 mph limits on roads where 40 mph would be too high and 40 mph limits on roads where 60 mph would be safe; if all drivers concentrated on their driving and drove to the conditions, you could probably do away with speed limits.
Final point; if speed causes accidents, why aren’t the German Autobahns (many with no speed limit) clogged with wrecked vehicles?
YES, we have a problem in this country with DISRESPECTING the communities that have to put up with ‘speeding’ vehicles. Whilst 50% think its OK to speed, that means that the remaining 50% think it’s not. I know what category I’m in!
Straight to the comments section.. to read rebukes from the usual righteous high and mighty brigade…
In my opinion slow drivers are a greater cause of accidents than fast drivers.
Those drivers who insist on driving at two-thirds the speed limit.
Those drivers who get in line with other cars behind a lorry travelling at 30mph in a 60mph zone – making it virtually impossible for anyone else to overtake.
Those drivers who stop at roundabouts when there is no need, almost wanting to get out of their car to go and check before proceeding.
Those drivers who are continually changing speed when there is no need – when they approach a bend or a pedestrian on the footpath, on a straight road.
Okay I went off-topic – rant over
Valid rant – the roads have become a battle ground between politicians, road safety groups, irresponsible users and the rest – who suffers? Not the people who collect the fines.
I’ve found that having a much more powerful car means that I can safely overtake two cars and the lorry in front of them that are doing 35 on a 60mph “A'”road. The lorries slow to as little as 15mph going up gentle hills in rural County Durham. It’s ridiculous that the lorries can only go at this speed on a 60mph road, and the idiots lined up behind them, bumper to bumper, with no intention of overtaking, almost as bad.
Ian, I think you are being harsh in your judgement of the drivers of cars who are following on behind slow-moving lorries and you may have inadvertently revealed an impatience in your character. The drivers of these cars are, in all likelihood, themselves frustrated by not readily able to overtake the lorry due to a twisty nature of the road and/or oncoming traffic but they nevertheless are cautious. The situation for them is further worsened when they see in their mirrors someone else join the queue who looks like he will be too impatient to wait his turn at getting past the lorry. To overtake two cars plus a lorry in one manoeuvre is potentially dangerous even in your powerful car and, if I understand your point correctly, is also ill-mannered. Allan, 4 days before you , made a similar remark to yours about traffic building up behind relatively slow-moving vehicles and he seem to share the same mind set as you.
The authorities, safety groups, police etc are making it worse for themselves and every road user driving a vehicle. Because of an irresponsible few who never pay any attention to speed restrictions AND exceed them by a huge margin everyone has to be treated as an idiot or criminal and not to be trusted when behind a wheel. Rightly or wrongly drivers then treat the authorities who make these laws with contempt and ridicule.
Now take the 20mph outside schools. Shockingly I frequently witness drivers blatantly disregarding this limit at school time while kids are waiting to cross the road. In my opinion they should have their licenses suspended for a year minimum. However, should the same happen if it is 10pm or 6am? So thats one, of many, examples of why drivers have less respect for speed limits than they should. The authorities should work with drivers, not against them.
Yes speed limits are frustrating but the cameras are NOT a menace! The only people that think they are are those that can not drive properly at or below the speed limit.
As for people speeding because the vehicle behind is “TOO CLOSE” ????? I slow down, if they don’t back off I slow down more until have to I stop, they get the message even if I have to get out and explain what the problem is.
I don’t tolerate bad or aggressive driving and have a dash cam to capture these fools.
Speed limits and all the other rules in the highway code are there to keep intelligent people safe, the idiots that think they know better are the one’s that cause the problems.
I hope this is just trolling. This kind of behaviour is a danger to everyone, especially yourself. Fair enough if you want to risk yourself, but innocent parties are at risk too.
The official recommendation is to slow down gently when we are being tailgated so that there is plenty of space in front of us if the vehicle in front brakes suddenly. In this way a potential accident is avoided. Tailgaters get frustrated, but we do not get killed.
nothing up with speeding on a motorway / duel carriageway other than that I stick to the speed limit
if kids are going to play on those types of roads then they deserve to be run over
NO, NO, NO! The motorist is being fleeced enough at the moment simply because they are an easy target and the authorities know that they have a limited time (before motoring gets too expensive) to get as much blood out of the proverbial stone as possible. A great example of the nonsense of traffic enforcement can be seen in the ridiculously slow 70mph motorway speed limit which, like all speed limits, are arrived at arbitrarily with no reference to actual safety at all. They are set to make enforcement easier – there is no ‘safety’ aspect to them. Mobile cameras are not about safety either as there’s no deterrent in them. With fixed cameras, you can see them and slow down, mobile units are hidden!! I think the authorities pretend to believe their own claptrap by using statistics to justify penalising drivers (at 30mph, 1 in 10 are killed; at 40mph, 5 in 10 are killed, etc). Of course faster speeds will hurt people more in the event of an accident, but the actual causes of accidents are not about speed itself but about road user error. If a driver is travelling at 40mph in a 30mph limit SAFELY, and someone runs into the road in front of them, the safety issue is about the person running into the road not about the driver driving safely at 40mph. The fact that the person may be more severely injured shouldn’t be about the driver who was driving safely, but the pedestrian who unsafely ran into the road – let’s get the onus of responsibility right. Speed does not kill, bad driving kills. Since when does 31mph in a 30mph limit suddenly become ‘unsafe’? The ‘stick to the limit and you’ll be alright’ brigade need to grow up and realise that they are believing the propaganda mush they are being fed.
You just foiled your own argument, and no 2 wrongs don’t make a right. obviously how can you be driving safely doing 40 in a 30 zone, when did you pass your test you need a refresher and a lesson in humility your one of these that live in your little world behind your steering wheel trying to get there that few minutes sooner. sooner or later your foolishness will catch you up, then maybe a few years behind bars will change your train of thought. A driver will always be at fault where pedestrians are concerned even if they run into your path, You as the driver of a 2 ton carnage maker are at fault and the fact that excessive speeding in that situation can only reflect on any judgments made on you.
So the answer to the comment speed does not kill. bad driving does. Knowingly and wilfully breaking the speed limit at any time can only constitute to bad driving.
Here’s the fact it is more difficult to control a vehicles speed and keep to the speed limit than it is to put you foot down and disregard every other road user.
Answer this one whose the more skilled driver the one that can have his vehicle travel within the speed limits or the one travelling at excessive speeds.
I will tells you what the main problem is we all paid excessive amounts to learn and pass our tests, and then the other excesses of motoring, fuel ,MOT and insurances…etc. we suddenly think we own the road we are travelling on.
We quickly forget that we were once pedestrians, cyclists…etc. I can tell you we have all probably experienced enough bad drivers just walking to school, when drivers doing 50 in a 30 zone and you waiting at a crossing and the lights change to allow you to cross and this car travelling towards you slams his anchors on and skids to halt 10 metres the other side of the crossing, I’m just so glad that I had the forethought to hesitate before starting to cross.
So forgive me for sticking to the speed limits on our roads, because most drivers these days usually tend to have a right foot bigger than their driving skill level.
Speed does not kill – excessive speed for the road and pavement conditions kills. Until we get this we will demonise the limit-keeping careful drivers who become victims of someone else’s idiocy or thoughtlessness. If I walk out in front of a train doing 70mph I am responsible for my own death, If I walk out in front of a car at 70mph then I am equally responsible for my own death. In both cases the drivers are traumatised, the train driver has some recompense the car driver does not, and will be blamed.
Until you get this, Neil, you will make comments like ” A driver will always be at fault where pedestrians are concerned even if they run into your path” and you will defeat your own case. Many drivers (me included) hate seeing a group of talking pedestrians because we never know when they will step out into the road, often not looking or even thinking – Do you drive?
Our towns have been 30mph for as long as I can remember. Our breaking distances have considerably shortened due to the advances in the modern braking system of the vehicles. So cars should stop quicker overall unless our thinking times have increased? Have we become people who cannot think quickly and is now so slow that we need to have the 20 mph now in some towns. Or are pedestrians so careless that they walk in front of cars. I believe that our planners are certainly not drivers and are protecting rather than educating our pedestrians. Keep the speed limit but write to councillors and MPs with your common sense thoughts on the subject.
Regarding the article – I’m sorry but the available data on accident causation and impact doesn’t support the conclusions made there. It turns out that driving errors are what most commonly kill.
Some speed limits genuinely do exist for safety reasons (albeit the reasons only exist for a portion of the time), but the majority don’t.