In 2022, under free-flowing traffic conditions, 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.
Overall, speed limit compliance in 2022 was slightly higher than 2021, where lower levels of compliance may be partly attributed to the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on lower traffic levels.
However, vehicle speed limit compliance in 2022 has remained broadly similar when compared to vehicle speed limit compliance levels between 2011 and 2019, these years were not affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
In 2022 the percentage of car drivers exceeding the speed limit by more than 10mph was much lower than overall speeding, at 8% on motorways, 5% on 30mph roads and 1% on National Speed Limit (NSL) single carriageway roads (where the speed limit for cars is 60mph).
Car and motorcycle speed limit compliance levels tended to be highest on NSL single carriageways and lowest on 30mph roads.
The average car speed, under free flow conditions, was just under the speed limit on motorways (69mph), at the speed limit for 30mph roads (30mph) and under the speed limit on NSL single carriageway roads (51mph).
The RAC Report on Motoring 2022 asked users to select up to 3 reasons why they exceed the speed limit for each road class.
As shown in the graph below, the top reason from respondents who admitted to exceeding the speed limit on motorways was “I drive according to the speed of other road users”, which was cited by 42% of motorway users. On 20mph roads, users’ top reason for exceeding the speed limit was “speed limit being inappropriate for the road”, which was cited by 47% of 20mph road users.
Reasons for breaking the speed limit on motorways, 30mph and 20mph roads (Source: RAC report on motoring, 2022)
Following the publication of new government data on speed limit compliance, RAC 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.
“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.”
Source: Department for Transport and RAC
