More than 30,000 motorists were caught driving at 30mph or faster on 20mph roads and over 275,000 clocked more than 10mph over 30 limits last year, a shock new investigation has found.
The new figures, obtained by the RAC, highlighted some of the most extreme speeding cases, with one driver clocked at 89mph on a 20mph stretch of the B5129 in Deeside, North Wales.
Another was caught travelling at 114mph in a 30mph zone near a primary school in Aylestone, Leicestershire.
The worst speeder in a 30mph zone was clocked at an eye-water 143mph on the M1 northbound between junction 26 and 27 near Nottingham.
And the fastest speed recorded by police forces on any road was a horrifying 161mph, with incidents occurring on both the A5 in Bayston Hill, Shropshire, and the southbound M6 between Stoke and Stafford.
The RAC said the ‘chilling speeds’ at which some people drive show they ‘remain oblivious to the incredibly severe risk’.
Freedom of Information requests were sent to all 45 UK police forces, with 34 responding.
Over 30,000 motorists were caught driving at 30mph or faster on 20mph roads last year in the UK, an RAC investigation has found
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Across 28 forces, 32,548 motorists were caught driving at 30mph or more on 20mph roads last year – at least 50 per cent above the legal limit.
And data sourced from 33 forces shows that 271,341 drivers were reprimanded for travelling at 40mph or higher on 30mph roads.
The rollout of 20mph speed limits is becoming increasingly widespread across the UK, with Wales having already adopted a default 20mph limit in built-up areas and the Scottish Government committing to implementing the same limit where appropriate.
Sixty-two of England’s 153 local authorities have also adopted similar policies.
More than half of London’s boroughs are now covered by 20mph limits, as Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan has made lower speed limits a key policy, to the ire of many motorists and campaign groups.
The main aim of implementing 20mph limits – according to authorities – is to reduce road deaths, especially among pedestrians and cyclists.
Speed is a key contributor to fatal collisions on Great Britain’s roads.
Official data for 2024 – the latest year for which data is available – shows speed was a factor in most fatal collisions (58 per cent), with drivers or riders exceeding the speed limit contributing to a fifth (20 per cent) of all such crashes.
In 2024, 185 people lost their lives in collisions where breaking the speed limit played a role.
Previous RAC research involving 1,701 drivers found that four in five regularly see people driving at excessive speeds on 20mph and 30mph roads, while 55 per cent believe there is a ‘culture of speeding’ in the UK.
Drivers support measures to combat excessive speeding, with 55 per cent strongly backing action, the RAC found.
The Government’s road safety strategy, published in January, included a target to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured in road crashes by 65 per cent by 2035. It also set out proposals to provide councils with new guidance on setting speed limits on their roads.
However, the RAC believes a clear focus must now be placed on tackling the drivers who represent the greatest risk on the roads, including those prepared to drive at such excessive speeds — especially on roads with 20mph and 30mph limits — and habitual offenders.
RAC senior policy officer Rod Dennis said: ‘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 that speeding is a choice made by the driver.
‘We very much look forward to the Government’s response to its consultations on the Road Safety Strategy.
‘New casualty reduction targets and updated guidance for councils on setting local speed limits are welcome, but a greater focus on tackling excessive speeding and repeat offending is also desperately needed.’