Department for Transport (DfT) figures released today (September 9, 2020) showed that in 2019 50% of cars exceeded the speed limit on motorways compared to 54% on 30mph roads and 9% on 60mph roads.
The Vehicle Speed Compliance Statistics for Great Britain report is based on speed data from DfT automatic traffic counters.
The percentage of cars exceeding speed limits increased significantly at the weekend, particularly on 30mph roads.
Police and Crime Commissioner Alison Hernandez is national lead for road safety for the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners.
This week she launched a survey aimed at getting a better understanding of people’s opinions of road safety and highways law enforcement. Its results will feed into a current Government consultation on road safety.
“These figures, over the years, have consistently shown that most drivers exceed the speed limits, particularly on those routes through communities, by people’s homes, schools and places of work,” she said.
“In 2018, 1,784 people were killed on Britain’s roads. In addition, 25,511 were seriously injured. This is more than double the number of deaths from terrorism and murders combined. The 1,784 fatalities include 456 pedestrians and 48 children.
“I think the vast majority of people think this terrible toll is unacceptable, are tired of seeing people regularly flout the rules without consequence and would support higher penalties for those who put lives at risk if they were confident that more of the revenues raised from them could be invested into a raft of measures to make our communities safer.”
The poll, which can be found here, takes about a minute to complete and is open until September 30, 2020.
* The most recent year for which full-year Department for Transport (DfT) figures are available)