No Need For Speed
Drivers breaking speed limits in increasing numbers
Almost half of the 3,102 drivers questioned for the RAC Report on Motoring say they have exceeded the speed limit of 60mph on rural roads – up from 44% in 2021 and now matching the highest figure ever seen by the RAC since 2016.
Almost one in 10 confess to having done this frequently while 40% say they have done it occasionally on up to half of their journeys on these roads.
In 2021, 514 people were killed in a total of 11,827 collisions on 60mph non-built-up roads – a fatality rate of 4%, which is higher than on motorways.
On motorways and dual carriageways, as many as 60% of drivers say they have broken the 70mph limit, either on most journeys or up to half of their trips in the past 12 months. The 60% figure is the biggest the RAC has seen since 2017 at 66%. The most common reason drivers give for exceeding the motorway’s 70mph limit is that they are travelling at the same speed as other drivers. The same justification is used by a large percentage of those who break 60mph limits.
The RAC is heavily advising the government to tackle the problem by lowering speed limits on the most dangerous roads. This comes as a result of the increase in fatalities on the road from 2021
