Motoring groups have expressed concern over new data showing that half of car drivers exceed the speed limit on 30mph roads.
The Department for Transport (DfT) has published Vehicle speed compliance statistics for Great Britain: 2022, which presents estimates of vehicle compliance with speed limits in free-flowing conditions on roads in Great Britain.
The statistics, which the DfT said provide insights into speeds at which drivers choose to travel when free to do so, show that 50% of car drivers exceeded the speed limit on 30mph roads compared to 45% on motorways and 11% on national speed limit single carriageway roads.
Officials said that overall compliance in 2022 was slightly higher than 2021, where lower levels of compliance may be partly attributed to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on lower traffic levels, but remained broadly similar to compliance levels between 2011 and 2019.
The RAC’s head of policy, Simon Williams said: 'It’s concerning to see that every year half of drivers exceed the limit on 30mph roads, with more than a fifth (22%) last year driving more than five miles an hour too fast.
‘The implications of speeding on these roads is likely to be greater than on faster roads, not least as they’re generally in areas with more pedestrians and cyclists.'
He added: ‘One possible explanation for why speed limit compliance is so much worse compared to other roads is that drivers may be used to looking for speed limit signs, which are much less prevalent on 30mph roads as generally speaking the presence of streetlights indicates the limit is 30mph.
‘While drivers should know this, perhaps there is a case for the use of more repeater signs in 30mph areas so there is no doubt.’
AA president Edmund King said: ‘With almost five people each day killed on our roads it is important that drivers respect the speed limits.
‘What stands out in particular is tailgating: a fifth of cars don’t observe the two second gap between themselves and the vehicle in front of them. Having more cops in cars would help tackle this issue.’
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