Seven-in-10 police forces caught drivers at double the speed limit on 30mph roads, RAC analysis finds
- Perry Richardson
- 4 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Seven in 10 UK police forces recorded drivers travelling at least twice the speed limit on 30mph roads during 2025, according to new analysis by the RAC, highlighting the scale of extreme speeding on roads where pedestrians, cyclists and other vulnerable road users are most at risk.
The findings, based on Freedom of Information requests sent to police forces across the UK, reveal a series of severe speeding offences on both 20mph and 30mph roads. Among the most serious was a driver caught travelling at 114mph on a 30mph road in Aylestone, Leicestershire, close to a primary school. While the offence occurred during the middle of the night, the recorded speed illustrates the scale of dangerous driving being detected.
Elsewhere, a driver was recorded travelling at 89mph on a 20mph section of the B5129 in Deeside, North Wales. During daylight hours, police also detected motorists travelling at 64mph on a 20mph road in Halifax, 60mph in Southport, and 48mph in Alderley Edge during the afternoon.
The data also revealed alarming daytime offences on 30mph roads. A driver was clocked at 95mph in Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset, during the afternoon, while another reached the same speed on the A5 near Leighton Buzzard. In Cheshire, police recorded a vehicle travelling at 80mph close to schools in Culcheth at around 3pm, while another driver reached 79mph in Barrow-in-Furness shortly after 4pm.
Across the police forces that responded, 271,341 motorists were caught driving at 40mph or above in 30mph zones, representing speeds at least one-third higher than the legal limit. Meanwhile, 32,548 drivers were detected travelling at 30mph or more on 20mph roads across 28 force areas.
The data also included some of the fastest speeds recorded anywhere on the UK’s road network. Police detected vehicles travelling at 161mph on the A5 in Shropshire and on the M6 between Stoke-on-Trent and Stafford. Other motorists were caught at 160mph on the M6 in Cheshire, 158mph on the A14 in Suffolk and 155mph on the A38 Sutton Coldfield bypass.
The RAC said the figures reinforce the continuing role excessive speed plays in fatal road collisions. According to the latest official road casualty data for 2024, speed was identified as a contributory factor in 58% of fatal collisions. Drivers or riders exceeding the speed limit were involved in one in five fatal crashes, with 185 people losing their lives in collisions where speeding was recorded as a factor.
The organisation also pointed to previous research showing that excessive speed remains a widespread concern among motorists. Four in five drivers surveyed said they regularly witness people driving too fast on 20mph and 30mph roads, while more than half believe there is now a culture of speeding across the UK. Separate research carried out last autumn found that 86% of drivers support further measures aimed at reducing excessive speeding.
The RAC has urged ministers to prioritise enforcement against the most dangerous offenders following publication of the Government’s Road Safety Strategy earlier this year. While welcoming ambitions to reduce deaths and serious injuries on Britain’s roads by 65% by 2035, the organisation argues that greater emphasis should be placed on tackling drivers prepared to travel at extreme speeds, particularly in urban areas where the consequences of collisions are often most severe.
For professional drivers, including those working in the taxi and private hire sector, the findings also serve as a reminder of the increased risks posed by reckless motorists. Drivers operating in busy town centres and residential streets often encounter vulnerable passengers, pedestrians and cyclists, making compliance with speed limits and continued enforcement against dangerous driving a key road safety issue.
Rod Dennis, RAC senior policy officer, said: “Our analysis shows some of the frankly chilling speeds some people are prepared to drive at – and these are just the cases the police are aware of. The fact that some were recorded in residential areas, even near schools, in daytime hours when others might well have been using the roads, underlines just how dangerous this kind of behaviour is. Such roads will almost certainly be well used by pedestrians and cyclists, so it doesn’t bear thinking about what travelling at such high speeds could have led to.
“There is a lot of work to be done. Despite drivers and riders exceeding speed limits being a factor in an increasing number of fatal road collisions, it’s clear that some people remain oblivious to the incredibly severe risk that driving too fast poses. The latest official data shows there were more than 300 fatal collisions in just one year where speeding was a factor – tragedies which are, on the whole, entirely avoidable given speeding is a choice the driver makes.
“We very much look forward to the Government’s response to its consultations on the Road Safety Strategy. New casualty reduction targets and an update to councils on setting local speeds are welcome, but a greater focus tackling the problem of excessive speeding and repeat offending is also desperately needed.
“Together with the Stop Excessive Speeders campaign, we therefore strongly urge the Government to introduce Intervening Intelligent Speed Assistance technology – which can prevent a vehicle from exceeding the limit – to reduce the number of drivers on our roads that puts all of us at risk.”
