Over half of drivers break 30mph limits
Official figures show drivers are most likely to break 30mph limits, closely followed by 70mph motorway limits
More than half of car drivers break 30mph speed limits, official Government figures have revealed.
Newly released Department for Transport statistics for 2019 show that drivers are most likely to break 30mph speed limits, with 54 per cent of motorists doing so. On motorways, exactly half of drivers break the speed limit, while only nine per cent of drivers break the 60mph barrier on single carriageway national speed limit roads.
The figures for last year also show 12 per cent of drivers break the speed limit on motorways by more than 10mph. Only six per cent did so on 30mph roads and the figure was just one per cent on single carriageway national speed limit roads.
On motorways, 49 per cent of van drivers broke the speed limit, while 55 per cent did so in 30mph zones. Meanwhile, 99 per cent of articulated lorries stuck to the limit on motorways - with speed limiters no doubt playing a part - but worryingly only 56 per cent of HGVs obeyed 30mph limits.
Exceeding the speed limit was a contributory factor in 5.1 per cent of road traffic accidents in 2018, up from 4.8 per cent in 2017. The Department for Transport says that compliance with speed limits has broadly remained stable since 2011.
RAC road safety spokesman Simon Williams called the figures “alarming”, adding: “We know that during the days of strict lockdown there was a real prevalence of speeding in built-up areas. Breaking speed limits is illegal and puts everyone using the road in danger. It’s vital the Government’s review into road policing addresses the elephant in the room – a lack of enforcement.”
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