According to the latest figures from police constabularies, drivers committed more than two million speeding offences in the UK in 2016. This is a new record for a twelve-month period. In total, 2,293,228 speeding offences were recorded during the year.
Are we all speeding more? Or is there simply an increasing number of ways that we can be caught?
Speeding around the UK
The information revealed some interesting trends. For example, Avon and Somerset police recorded the highest number of offences during 2016, followed by Thames Valley and Greater Manchester. Part of the reason for this increase is that Avon and Somerset is one of the forces that are enforcing the 70mph speed limit on motorways, along stretches of new smart motorway. This relatively new step is catching out plenty of motorists and resulting in a boom in speeding fines.
Speeding in the UK is a serious problem. According to the RAC, 222 people died in accidents where speed was a contributing factor in 2015 – that’s around 15% of the total deaths on the road. Worryingly, the figures indicate that, despite awareness of the dangers of speeding, more drivers are doing it than ever. Or could it be that the increase is actually due to new and increased ways to be caught?
Top earning speed cameras
Speed cameras are big earners for local governments. The top ten highest-earning cameras across the UK brought in over £3 million in fines in 2016. The year before, one camera alone, on the A1 northbound near Great Ponton, Lincolnshire, caught 6,000 motorists, earning a staggering £1,661 a day.
In second place was the camera near Scunthorpe on the M180, which caught over 5,800 motorists in the same year. Three of the top ten highest-earning cameras are located around the M25, including one on a 50mph zone where motorists travel an average of 62mph.
Avoiding the fines
A surprising figure from the 2015 speeding fines stats was the number of people who avoided fines. While 800,000 speeding fines were issued during the year, a total of 1.3 million individuals managed to avoid a fine. Figures haven’t been released for 2016 to compare yet, but should make for interesting reading once available.
There are several ways to avoid paying a fine if you’re caught speeding. One of the top methods is to take a speed awareness course. Around a third of those caught speeding choose to attend a course rather than pay a fine. However, there are also some more creative ways to avoid paying speeding fines. Recorded reasons include speeding drivers lying to say they were speeding due to an emergency, claiming they no longer owned the car and lying about who was driving the car at the time.
Changes to speed fines
April 2017 saw the introduction of new tiers and costs of speeding fines in the UK. The changes were aimed at slowing people down, so time will tell if they achieve their intended purpose. The new fines can be up to 50% higher than the previous ones. Fines used to be up to 100% of a driver’s weekly earnings. That figure has now increased to 150% for excessive speeding offences. The maximum fine that can be issued for speeding is £1,000 – or £2,500 if the offence was on a motorway. Offenders can also receive six points on their licence and be banned from driving for a brief period (up to 56 days). The minimum fine and number of points issued for speeding remain at £100 and three points respectively.
Only time will tell if the new, harsher penalties bring speeding numbers in the UK down over the course of 2017.
Will harsher fines and higher numbers of speed cameras finally start to curb our tendency to speed? Or is speeding simply an inevitable result of the congestion that delays us on other parts of the road network? Leave a comment below to let us know your views.
One thing not mentioned in this article is the proliferation of ridiculously low speed limits. I’m sure we’ve all driven/ridden along roads that are wide open and with good visibility, no turnings etc. and until recently were a national (60) limit but have a 40 or 50mph limit imposed on them. So I think maybe we’re all disregarding speed limits more and more because if some are ridiculous then we think maybe they’re all ridiculous.
Agreed. There’s a section of the Oxford ring road that’s dual carriageway with a speed limit of 50. As I understand it, this limit was imposed just because some woman crashed her (small) car with seven (?) kids in it on this section.
Excellent point. I ‘m all in favour of limits such as 20mph past a school – during daytime and term-time – but at 2am? The time of day and hence volume of traffic should affect the speed limit. The French manage to change the limit when the road is wet, so why can’t we do it when it’s practically empty?
I know this is a hackneyed saying, but it isn’t speed that kills, it’s inappropriate speed and failing to take proper heed of dangers. It seems to me that little recognition is given to how good modern cars are when compared to those of the sixties/seventies.
Agreed. I’m also willing to believe that a lot of accidents are caused by motorists watching their speedometers instead of the road. We should drive at speeds appropriate to the conditions at the time, not some arbitrary limit.
Agreed. I’m also willing to believe that a lot of accidents are caused by motorists watching their speedometers instead of the road.
That is a really stupid comment
I was once on a dual carriageway with a 40mph limit. An articulated lorry in front doing 40 noticed a speed camera and reacted causing the trailer to lock and jacknife. I wonder how many accidents speed cameras actually cause ?
My Peugeot 5008 has a head up display directly in, but not distracting from my line of sight when driving normally. It displays actual & set cruise speeds, and can also show how many seconds I am behind the car n front !
I love this device, and am sad to learn that Peugeot are not continuing to use it in the “New” 5008 !!
I told my local dealer that I would keep my ’63 reg 5008 as long as possible as this feature gives me confidence in driving !
Kevin and David: The obvious problem about so-called ‘appropriate ‘ speed is that it is open to wide-ranging opinion. Certainly, I would agree that an appropriate speed in foggy conditions or in torrential rain should be much lower than in good driving conditions regardless of what is displayed as an upper speed limit on a sign. I still favour a maximum speed limit to be legally set rather than leave it to individual drivers to consider for themselves their own choice of appropriate upper limit.
As for Kevin’s point about the improvements in car technology since the 1960-1980 era I agree that indeed has been a relatively long time in terms of car evolution, however it is a very short time in terms of human evolution and it is humans who drive the cars.
Unfortunately there are still a lot of older cars and drivers so legislation must take this into account
Too much reliance is made on a particular speed being an absolute boundary between a safe speed and an unsafe speed. Nothing miraculous happens at 1mph under the limit and nothing sinister happens at 1mph over the limit. Driving at 80mph at night on a motorway is probably safer than driving at 60mph in the day on the same bit of motorway.
Indeed, especially on a suburban road, it is arguable that, by traveling over the speed limit the car would have already passed the child that crosses the road without looking and the child would have crossed without injury.
And hit the 2 pensioners on the next crossing instead
According to the above statement “According to the RAC, 222 people died in accidents where speed was a contributing factor in 2015 – that’s around 15% of the total deaths on the road” That means that the other 85% were caused by vehicles traveling within the speed limits ! Strange that one.The fact is that the speed limits on UK roads were set out many many years ago, and although some of them are still appropriate, most of them are outdated and due to the vast improvement to motor vehicle design [brakes /tyres/chassis etc] the average car is capable of nearly twice the speed of a similar vehicle in the 50’s/60’s.It is quite easy to go over the national 70 mph speed limit without being aware of it as most drivers drive [as they should anyway] to the road conditions at the time.The danger comes when a driver is in charge of a vehicle which has a performance beyond his/her ability.This is generally due to the lack of experience on behalf of the driver.This could be rectified in part by having speed limitation plates etc fitted to vehicles to show that they are “still learning”, and although this type of system [green L plates] has been around for some time, I do not believe that it has gone far enough.The government has done the usual “pass the buck” trick and left it to the insurers to load younger drivers insurance to the hilt, which is great for their share holders but does not address the main issue at all, and in fact the number of people driving without insurance has risen dramatically in recent times because of this.
If the government was really serious about speeding per say, they would do more to work with the car makers to reduce/limit the actual vehicle speeds.Why do you need a car capable of more than double the national speed limit anyway ? Of course this would be virtually impossible to bring into effect as the manufacturers would not go along with this due to their obsession with performance/speed which is [according to them] the main reason why people want to buy their cars.This is proven by the latest developments in electric powered cars, which again, have the headline of acceleration and top speed instead of duration/range etc.At the end of the day it is up to each individual driver to decide what to do at any time whilst driving instead of waiting for the nanny state or the manufacturers to do it for them. ……..end of rant!
speed limits on Motorways should be increased, simple at harmonised to our EU neighbours 80mph, do not forget that any local council can now cut limits as it suits them.
disregarding the old 85% percentile.
basically Out of touch with todays modern vehicles.
i see too many advanced tech cars being driven like miss daisy
i ride progessively , but safely and could probably get banned every day …..hey ho
So much sense in all the above comments, add the annoying tendency to make more roads 20mph so pollution increases as one drives in a lower gear. Basically many drivers do not use their loaf and drive too fast in times of the day when pedestrians are at their peak, it would be good to be able drive at the speed limits much of the day, M25 if only could drive at 40 MPH half the time.Join the discussion
There are clearly two issues in this discussion: speed limits DO need revising on some roads but overall they are fair. 20 mph in suburban areas and outside schools should be timed for basic day use.
I have no truck with those who speed. You need to obey ALL laws whilst campagining to change them if you feel so inclined. We need to see that cameras are actually active, have stricter rules about rain (as in France) and prosecute to the maximum, increasing penalties exponentially for flagrant bad driving – i.e. serious banning.
Another issue is the pollution from speed – cars run most economically at about 55 – 60 mph – such speed limits are national in New Zealand and few people seriously speed with stricter police presence ( ironic given the low population and empty roads but they heed the environmental arguments).
Where I live in Staffordshire there is one road with 8 sets of speed bumps in 1 mile of road. Not only does this cause major damage to suspension and steering gear it also massively adds to pollution.
In addition it does not stop the boy and girl racers
I have no objection to speed restrictions where the speed limits correlate with road safety. I was caught speeding at 7pm in the evening accelerating out of a village in rural West Wales yards from an unrestricted stretch of road. There is not a speed camera here but an unmarked police car hidden on a farm track.
Instead of increasing fines, adding my cameras, reducing limits and harsher punishments. Why not take the opportunity to speed away. The government is moving forward with autonomous cars, straight from driving to not driving. Thats a big step forward. How about automatic speed limits to start, sensors on the road (on speed signs) communicate with the car and limit it to the limit of the road? That would ease us all into a car taking control. Also cars would be kept at a safe distance from each other at all times.
A lot of drivers can’t use roundabouts properly, indicate when then should or at all and nor do they adjust their driving to the road conditions (dangers, rain, pedestrians, etc). So how do you expect drivers to limit their speed.
Lets think differently, rather than making more work for the courts and police, and punishing, all of which cost money and time.
There is no doubt that cameras are a dangerous distraction when one should be concentrating on the road ahead – indeed, well ahead. Staffordshire is notorious for the number of cameras on straight roads with good visibility. However, they are obviously not catching enough drivers, because they now have a couple of new tactics. 1. Hide the speed restriction signs behind foliage, or new/badly placed road signs. 2. Remove the speed limit sign on the nearside, but leave it in place on the off-side of the road. I have a feeling that both of these tactics are actually illegal if not an offence in themselves. Perhaps we should start taking the authorities to court for entrapment.
It’s all a load of ball , it’s just about making money as usual .
All this talk about drivers speeding but who are the real culprits? The manufacturers!
Look at the acceleration a small car has nowadays, theyre fitted with abs, traction control and loads of other ‘safety features’. Lets be honest, if manufacturers took all these gimmicks away people would slow down due to self preservation.
Whats needed is Police back on the traffic patrol’s instead of this continental idea of cameras.
Speeding is not a crime – it is arbitrary set limit which sometimes makes sense, but sometimes it makes no sense at all. Not going into much details when National Speed limit was set in 1965, but it was based on 80% free flowing traffic speed on unrestricted road and meant to be “temporary”, later it meant to be reviewed when times requires so. I don’t need to mention that cars has changed significantly in more than 50 years and this restriction no longer makes sense, certainly times requires review. What is more using same principle as in 1965 current national limit would be ~85-90MPH if we measure speed in unrestricted road, because that is what most people are doing even in 70MPH limit (Highway agency estimates that 82% of drivers are speeding)…. BUT.. that not going to happen, because the last thing goverment cares about is safety – 2 million speeding fines is just great way of increasing budget, so why cut this stream of steady income? Even if restrictions doesn’t improve safety, they won’t do it.
On those principles the limit may be closer to 100 mph bearing in mind that a lot won’t pass 90 due to risk of getting banned. A minimum limit of 55mph should be in place also.
My car has a speed limiter that sets (if I want) to the road speed limit. Why can’t this be fixed to all cars… Impossible to speed unless disconnected. A secondary benefit would be the ability of police and local authorities to instantly reduce the limit due to accidents /bad weather /school times etc.
I also have this on my car but all you need to do to go faster is press the accelerator to the floor for a moment & you over ride the limitor.PS I do drive to the conditions at the time & don`t hang about.
Why can’t they franchise speed cameras so I only have to work 1 day per month. I drive 60 miles every day and drive under the speed limit. I’m the slowest car on the road. Where there is no deterant people drive whoever they want. Just like the problem we have with pavement parkers. Nobody cares anymore
The roads are so congested nowadays that when there is an opportunity to make up time, it is often taken.
Average speed cameras do tend to keep traffic moving but the severity of fines for comparatively small excesses of speed (3 to 4 mph) in some counties appears excessive & unreasonable.
I’ve also seen speeds advised on gantries when the motorway has been incident free. They are simply “tax collecting” with no safety issues driving the restriction. They are therefore seen as unreasonable & encourage speeding once away from the average speed zone.
Furthermore, cars are far better equipped to cope with speed today & the uneasy relationship between drivers & police will continue with both parties continuing to seek to gain advantages.
Typical example of an excuse to speed. Average speed check is the way forward. Fine and ban every one of them
I accept, speeding should be looked at, however, the police carrying out speed traps, should also be looked at. I recently received a summons for speeding, according to the police, doing 36 in a 30 zone. I know for certain I was not doing anywhere near 36, as I looked at my speedo, on approaching the police van, with the camera and I was doing 32, however, when passing a number of speed warnings, my speedo is 2 mph faster than they say. So that says I was doing 30 mph.
But it would cost me to argue in court, so I have to accept what the police say.
There are a number of reasons . Cars made today are a lot lighter with extremely powerful engines ,so its tempting for a driver to test the performance at every opportunity. Then there are the endless amount of road work delays which cause a lot of
frustration to drivers . Then you’ve got these stupid cheaper insurance deals for drivers to fit a spy in the car to keep a check on how they are driving .which tends to make the driver scared to drive even at the legal speed. This causes frustration to everyone.
I
I’m surprised that a system of sensors on cars has not been implemented whereby whenever a car exceeds the limit the authorities are automatically informed. The technology is there already. You would then get a bill periodically according to how much speeding you have done! If it goes above a certain level maybe then you would be taken to court and fined / banned etc? I don’t like this idea much but it would probably work! Nothing will work unless we KNOW we will get caught……
Here’s a good old nanny state supporter. Let’s just get a few cameras set up in your house to make sure you’re not doing anything that could construed as illegal or offensive!!
The speed limits on today’s highways are out of date. They were set in the 60s and 70s, when cars had no servo-assisted brakes and tyres were only half the width of today’s high-tech tyres.
Drivers very often have to ‘speed’ to make up time, lost in a delay or two further back on the journey.
And to the definition of speeding; how much faster over the speed limit, is deemed as ‘speeding’ ?
I think, in most cases, the term ‘speeding’, is just a tool to raise extra revenue from motorist, by local authorities.
The idea of a speed restriction is to protect other road users and pedestrians. I note that the men here are complaining about having to watch their speedometers in case they exceed the limit. Funnily enough, although a mere woman driver, I don’t need to because I know what my speed is.
Safe driving is a matter of consideration, courtesy and common sense. Just because you don’t agree with the speed limit doesn’t give you the right to break it. These are laws as much as those against assault or breaking and entering are. We cannot pick and choose which laws we like to keep or prefer to ignore. How many here condemn drink driving, driving without insurance or a licence? Every time I drive I wonder who will hit me because they are on a mobile phone, cut me up or have to speed because they are more important than me. People that speed are twice as likely to have accidents and those accidents will be more serious.
The motorway speed limit should be increased in line with technology and capabilities of modern vehicles. Remember the 70 mph limit was introduced over 45 years ago, when many cars could just about do 70.
I would much prefer to concentrate on driving rather than watching out for speed cameras, which is obviously much more important than constantly checking my speedometer which takes your eyes off the road for even a split second, as we all know accidents happen for the most part when our eyes are not “on the road” it only takes a split second to crash. Too many gadgets in cars, satnavs touch screens and mobile phones.
put a box in your car to monitor your driving like the insurance box make them pay for bad driving let the police read the box informing the police
Having just travelled up a motorway what I observed was too many drivers NOT pulling into the left hand lane when not overtaking resulting in the majority of cars being pushing into the rightmost ‘fast’ lane and inevitably too close together. Cameras could easily detect drivers who are not pulling in and leaving road space for the rest
Also, on the continent, speed is controlled through built up areas by speed controlled traffic lights – they go red when approaching speed is too high. The speed control is switched off during safer times (e.g. Evenings/night time) and drivers are trusted to be safer
Finally, quoting statistics is always devisive to make the desired point. If we took the number of speed related accidents per year as a percentage of the total number of drivers it would be very low showing the majority of us are safe responsible drivers being punished for a very small minority of irresponsible drivers. I say punish based on results by harsher punishments for those causing accidents due to inappropriate speed
As I drive for a living, I spend a lot of time on the roads. I was 5 mph over the limit in a 30 zone leading up to a dual carriageway at 2am. I contested the issue and ended up with the full 6 points. Yet whilst watching T.V the other day, I noted a guy riding a motorcycle on footpaths during the day and at speed whilst being recorded by a police car got 6 points. Where is the justice in this comparison?
With one more point added to my licence and I cannot drive for a living as no insurer will cover me. The people sat in their comfy little offices blindly dish out these penalties without looking into the basics such as time of day or night. Lack of street lighting to warn the unsuspecting motorist or the mass of other signs we are required to take note of whilst going about our work.
One problem is there are too many different speed limits ie: 30 then 50 back to 30 etc all this can happen on urban roads and in less than one mile with the odd house here and there, its a bit like cameras, slow down then after passing put your foot down. Has anyone else noticed these as it now takes much longer to drive most places due to these limits, plus the fact some drivers don’t even attain the posted limit. I had to follow a driver in a 50 mph limit their speed for 4 miles (no chance to overtake) 39 mph, people behind must have thought they were following a tractor
Phil-BS: The speed limit you refer to as the posted value is the MAXIMUM legally allowed value not a minimum value or a target value as you appear to think. From your figures of a 4 mile journey at 39 mph rather than 50 mph I calculate the extra time involved is a mere 81.2 seconds. Perhaps you should plan your journey times better and not be so impatient – the latter is liable to make you a menace on the roads. I have a strong suspicion that you would regard exceeding the speed limit by 11mph as perfectly OK but not to be below it by the same amount.
Particulary where speed limits are very low (for instance 30 mph on the A road in which I Iive ) it can be very difficult to be totally aware of the road & its possible problems ahead(certainly the most important part of driving) & yet be checking ones speed readings at the same time. I strongly feel that the former is of greatest importance & yet know from unhappy experience that this is not acceptable , even if one is avoiding a potential accident.!!
Can’t provide a view on motorway speeding – although I use our motorway frequently, it tends to be off-peak & in the main drivers seem perfectly competent at whatever speed.
Sorry, I seem to have wandered from my main observation that it is so difficult to be totally aware of the roads, traffic & surrounds ( the A1 of driving) & yet to be totally vigilant of ones speed to the n’th degree. Despite it all, I do very hard to follow the letter of the law while protecting other road users.
Regards
L McCrory
Speed limits are not just about safety on the road.
Sometimes they may be there to reduce noise in a residential area or just to make it a bit more comfortable for the people along the roadside.
It is only a way for Govt making money because you still have to pay £99 for attending the course! If it is safe and there is no one on the road, there should be no issue to drive within 10 miles of the required speed limit on that road! But no, you get points on your licence as required speed limit changes within a few yards from 40 to 30 and if you are unaware, you can be caught twice on the same camera because the layout has been changed and you were not aware! Insurance companies make a fortune for 5 years also…all just money making!
What happens to the drivers who refuse to drive at the speed limit causing others to brake, and how about the most annoying driver ever, the one who does 40mph at all times no matter what the road ?
Why?
Arn’t they making enough money out of us already?
The most of the speed limits were set by Barbara Castle back in the 60’s. Most people drive to the conditions of the road. If its a double parked, narrow road with young kids about, you have asume that little Johnny will run out from behind the next parked car.
But the mad dash for 20mph zones by councils, when cyclists regularly do over 23mph. Or 20 mph outside a School. When it’s 2am on a Sunday.
We should have variable speed limits. The Motoring Public should be trusted more. Motorway max speed should be increased. Put Cameras were accidents have been reported.
Do not worry about people speeding, concentrate on HOW they are driving!
Speed limits were once set on the internationally recognised 85% percentile rule, now they are set on the whims and fancies of local councillors!
Evermore lower speed limits, just makes for more ‘speeders’ and the huge profits that can be made by suppliers/manufactures of said equipment and of course all those involved the selling of Speed Awareness courses.
One thing not mentioned in this article is the proliferation of ridiculously low speed limits. I’m sure we’ve all driven/ridden along roads that are wide open and with good visibility, no turnings etc. and until recently were a national (60) limit but have a 40 or 50mph limit imposed on them. So I think maybe we’re all disregarding speed limits more and more because if some are ridiculous then we think maybe they’re all ridiculous.
Agreed. There’s a section of the Oxford ring road that’s dual carriageway with a speed limit of 50. As I understand it, this limit was imposed just because some woman crashed her (small) car with seven (?) kids in it on this section.
Excellent point. I ‘m all in favour of limits such as 20mph past a school – during daytime and term-time – but at 2am? The time of day and hence volume of traffic should affect the speed limit. The French manage to change the limit when the road is wet, so why can’t we do it when it’s practically empty?
I know this is a hackneyed saying, but it isn’t speed that kills, it’s inappropriate speed and failing to take proper heed of dangers. It seems to me that little recognition is given to how good modern cars are when compared to those of the sixties/seventies.
Agreed. I’m also willing to believe that a lot of accidents are caused by motorists watching their speedometers instead of the road. We should drive at speeds appropriate to the conditions at the time, not some arbitrary limit.
Agreed. I’m also willing to believe that a lot of accidents are caused by motorists watching their speedometers instead of the road.
That is a really stupid comment
I was once on a dual carriageway with a 40mph limit. An articulated lorry in front doing 40 noticed a speed camera and reacted causing the trailer to lock and jacknife. I wonder how many accidents speed cameras actually cause ?
My Peugeot 5008 has a head up display directly in, but not distracting from my line of sight when driving normally. It displays actual & set cruise speeds, and can also show how many seconds I am behind the car n front !
I love this device, and am sad to learn that Peugeot are not continuing to use it in the “New” 5008 !!
I told my local dealer that I would keep my ’63 reg 5008 as long as possible as this feature gives me confidence in driving !
Kevin and David: The obvious problem about so-called ‘appropriate ‘ speed is that it is open to wide-ranging opinion. Certainly, I would agree that an appropriate speed in foggy conditions or in torrential rain should be much lower than in good driving conditions regardless of what is displayed as an upper speed limit on a sign. I still favour a maximum speed limit to be legally set rather than leave it to individual drivers to consider for themselves their own choice of appropriate upper limit.
As for Kevin’s point about the improvements in car technology since the 1960-1980 era I agree that indeed has been a relatively long time in terms of car evolution, however it is a very short time in terms of human evolution and it is humans who drive the cars.
Unfortunately there are still a lot of older cars and drivers so legislation must take this into account
Too much reliance is made on a particular speed being an absolute boundary between a safe speed and an unsafe speed. Nothing miraculous happens at 1mph under the limit and nothing sinister happens at 1mph over the limit. Driving at 80mph at night on a motorway is probably safer than driving at 60mph in the day on the same bit of motorway.
Indeed, especially on a suburban road, it is arguable that, by traveling over the speed limit the car would have already passed the child that crosses the road without looking and the child would have crossed without injury.
And hit the 2 pensioners on the next crossing instead
According to the above statement “According to the RAC, 222 people died in accidents where speed was a contributing factor in 2015 – that’s around 15% of the total deaths on the road” That means that the other 85% were caused by vehicles traveling within the speed limits ! Strange that one.The fact is that the speed limits on UK roads were set out many many years ago, and although some of them are still appropriate, most of them are outdated and due to the vast improvement to motor vehicle design [brakes /tyres/chassis etc] the average car is capable of nearly twice the speed of a similar vehicle in the 50’s/60’s.It is quite easy to go over the national 70 mph speed limit without being aware of it as most drivers drive [as they should anyway] to the road conditions at the time.The danger comes when a driver is in charge of a vehicle which has a performance beyond his/her ability.This is generally due to the lack of experience on behalf of the driver.This could be rectified in part by having speed limitation plates etc fitted to vehicles to show that they are “still learning”, and although this type of system [green L plates] has been around for some time, I do not believe that it has gone far enough.The government has done the usual “pass the buck” trick and left it to the insurers to load younger drivers insurance to the hilt, which is great for their share holders but does not address the main issue at all, and in fact the number of people driving without insurance has risen dramatically in recent times because of this.
If the government was really serious about speeding per say, they would do more to work with the car makers to reduce/limit the actual vehicle speeds.Why do you need a car capable of more than double the national speed limit anyway ? Of course this would be virtually impossible to bring into effect as the manufacturers would not go along with this due to their obsession with performance/speed which is [according to them] the main reason why people want to buy their cars.This is proven by the latest developments in electric powered cars, which again, have the headline of acceleration and top speed instead of duration/range etc.At the end of the day it is up to each individual driver to decide what to do at any time whilst driving instead of waiting for the nanny state or the manufacturers to do it for them. ……..end of rant!
speed limits on Motorways should be increased, simple at harmonised to our EU neighbours 80mph, do not forget that any local council can now cut limits as it suits them.
disregarding the old 85% percentile.
basically Out of touch with todays modern vehicles.
i see too many advanced tech cars being driven like miss daisy
i ride progessively , but safely and could probably get banned every day …..hey ho
So much sense in all the above comments, add the annoying tendency to make more roads 20mph so pollution increases as one drives in a lower gear. Basically many drivers do not use their loaf and drive too fast in times of the day when pedestrians are at their peak, it would be good to be able drive at the speed limits much of the day, M25 if only could drive at 40 MPH half the time.Join the discussion
There are clearly two issues in this discussion: speed limits DO need revising on some roads but overall they are fair. 20 mph in suburban areas and outside schools should be timed for basic day use.
I have no truck with those who speed. You need to obey ALL laws whilst campagining to change them if you feel so inclined. We need to see that cameras are actually active, have stricter rules about rain (as in France) and prosecute to the maximum, increasing penalties exponentially for flagrant bad driving – i.e. serious banning.
Another issue is the pollution from speed – cars run most economically at about 55 – 60 mph – such speed limits are national in New Zealand and few people seriously speed with stricter police presence ( ironic given the low population and empty roads but they heed the environmental arguments).
Where I live in Staffordshire there is one road with 8 sets of speed bumps in 1 mile of road. Not only does this cause major damage to suspension and steering gear it also massively adds to pollution.
In addition it does not stop the boy and girl racers
I have no objection to speed restrictions where the speed limits correlate with road safety. I was caught speeding at 7pm in the evening accelerating out of a village in rural West Wales yards from an unrestricted stretch of road. There is not a speed camera here but an unmarked police car hidden on a farm track.
Instead of increasing fines, adding my cameras, reducing limits and harsher punishments. Why not take the opportunity to speed away. The government is moving forward with autonomous cars, straight from driving to not driving. Thats a big step forward. How about automatic speed limits to start, sensors on the road (on speed signs) communicate with the car and limit it to the limit of the road? That would ease us all into a car taking control. Also cars would be kept at a safe distance from each other at all times.
A lot of drivers can’t use roundabouts properly, indicate when then should or at all and nor do they adjust their driving to the road conditions (dangers, rain, pedestrians, etc). So how do you expect drivers to limit their speed.
Lets think differently, rather than making more work for the courts and police, and punishing, all of which cost money and time.
There is no doubt that cameras are a dangerous distraction when one should be concentrating on the road ahead – indeed, well ahead. Staffordshire is notorious for the number of cameras on straight roads with good visibility. However, they are obviously not catching enough drivers, because they now have a couple of new tactics. 1. Hide the speed restriction signs behind foliage, or new/badly placed road signs. 2. Remove the speed limit sign on the nearside, but leave it in place on the off-side of the road. I have a feeling that both of these tactics are actually illegal if not an offence in themselves. Perhaps we should start taking the authorities to court for entrapment.
It’s all a load of ball , it’s just about making money as usual .
All this talk about drivers speeding but who are the real culprits? The manufacturers!
Look at the acceleration a small car has nowadays, theyre fitted with abs, traction control and loads of other ‘safety features’. Lets be honest, if manufacturers took all these gimmicks away people would slow down due to self preservation.
Whats needed is Police back on the traffic patrol’s instead of this continental idea of cameras.
Speeding is not a crime – it is arbitrary set limit which sometimes makes sense, but sometimes it makes no sense at all. Not going into much details when National Speed limit was set in 1965, but it was based on 80% free flowing traffic speed on unrestricted road and meant to be “temporary”, later it meant to be reviewed when times requires so. I don’t need to mention that cars has changed significantly in more than 50 years and this restriction no longer makes sense, certainly times requires review. What is more using same principle as in 1965 current national limit would be ~85-90MPH if we measure speed in unrestricted road, because that is what most people are doing even in 70MPH limit (Highway agency estimates that 82% of drivers are speeding)…. BUT.. that not going to happen, because the last thing goverment cares about is safety – 2 million speeding fines is just great way of increasing budget, so why cut this stream of steady income? Even if restrictions doesn’t improve safety, they won’t do it.
On those principles the limit may be closer to 100 mph bearing in mind that a lot won’t pass 90 due to risk of getting banned. A minimum limit of 55mph should be in place also.
My car has a speed limiter that sets (if I want) to the road speed limit. Why can’t this be fixed to all cars… Impossible to speed unless disconnected. A secondary benefit would be the ability of police and local authorities to instantly reduce the limit due to accidents /bad weather /school times etc.
I also have this on my car but all you need to do to go faster is press the accelerator to the floor for a moment & you over ride the limitor.PS I do drive to the conditions at the time & don`t hang about.
Why can’t they franchise speed cameras so I only have to work 1 day per month. I drive 60 miles every day and drive under the speed limit. I’m the slowest car on the road. Where there is no deterant people drive whoever they want. Just like the problem we have with pavement parkers. Nobody cares anymore
The roads are so congested nowadays that when there is an opportunity to make up time, it is often taken.
Average speed cameras do tend to keep traffic moving but the severity of fines for comparatively small excesses of speed (3 to 4 mph) in some counties appears excessive & unreasonable.
I’ve also seen speeds advised on gantries when the motorway has been incident free. They are simply “tax collecting” with no safety issues driving the restriction. They are therefore seen as unreasonable & encourage speeding once away from the average speed zone.
Furthermore, cars are far better equipped to cope with speed today & the uneasy relationship between drivers & police will continue with both parties continuing to seek to gain advantages.
Typical example of an excuse to speed. Average speed check is the way forward. Fine and ban every one of them
I accept, speeding should be looked at, however, the police carrying out speed traps, should also be looked at. I recently received a summons for speeding, according to the police, doing 36 in a 30 zone. I know for certain I was not doing anywhere near 36, as I looked at my speedo, on approaching the police van, with the camera and I was doing 32, however, when passing a number of speed warnings, my speedo is 2 mph faster than they say. So that says I was doing 30 mph.
But it would cost me to argue in court, so I have to accept what the police say.
There are a number of reasons . Cars made today are a lot lighter with extremely powerful engines ,so its tempting for a driver to test the performance at every opportunity. Then there are the endless amount of road work delays which cause a lot of
frustration to drivers . Then you’ve got these stupid cheaper insurance deals for drivers to fit a spy in the car to keep a check on how they are driving .which tends to make the driver scared to drive even at the legal speed. This causes frustration to everyone.
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I’m surprised that a system of sensors on cars has not been implemented whereby whenever a car exceeds the limit the authorities are automatically informed. The technology is there already. You would then get a bill periodically according to how much speeding you have done! If it goes above a certain level maybe then you would be taken to court and fined / banned etc? I don’t like this idea much but it would probably work! Nothing will work unless we KNOW we will get caught……
Here’s a good old nanny state supporter. Let’s just get a few cameras set up in your house to make sure you’re not doing anything that could construed as illegal or offensive!!