Figures provided for the Department of Transport indicate that during 2018, over half of all car drivers exceeded the 30 miles per hour limit. The figure for motorway drivers speeding was just under 50 percent. It is interesting that speeding was most likely to occur on weekdays rather than during the weekend.
Is Speeding A Male Thing?
Of cases where penalty points were attached to a licence due to speeding, 69 percent of the recipients were male. Furthermore, this figure increased to 78 percent when the speeding offence took place on a Motorway.
20 Miles Per Hour Zones
Due to the high numbers of casualties occurring in urban areas many local authorities have introduced 20 Miles Per Hour zones in built-up areas and particularly in the vicinity of schools. These 20 MPH zones fall into two categories, those with traffic calming such as speedbumps and those that merely have reduced speed signage and are referred to as Free Flow. However, in the case of the free flow zones, 87 percent of cars exceeded the speed limit. Furthermore, also in the free flow zones, 22 percent of car drivers exceeded the limit by more than 10 MPH.
The Dangers Of Speeding
In recent years the number of road accidents caused by exceeding the speed limit have remained just under 5 percent of all accidents. Moreover, where serious accidents and those resulting in fatalities are concerned, almost 7 percent are due to breaking the speed limit.
Why Do Drivers Speed?
The Royal Automobile Club surveyed drivers who admitted to having broken speed limits.
In 20 MPH zones
Over 30 percent of respondents suggested that the speed limit was inappropriate. Almost 25 percent considered it O.K. to exceed the speed limit if there was no other traffic on the road. A little under 20 percent said they merely drove in accordance with the speed of other traffic. A surprising 20 percent admitted to speeding because they failed to check their speedometer often enough. Finally, almost 20 percent said they broke the speed limit due to being pressured by drivers following behind them.
On Motorways Those interviewed included almost 30 percent who felt the speed limit was inappropriate. Over 30 percent suggested it was safe to speed if there was no other traffic on the road. 40 percent suggested they followed the flow of other vehicles. 15 percent confirmed they failed to check their speedometer often enough and over 25 percent said they responded to pressure from drivers following behind them.
What can YOU Do To Protect Yourself?
Statistics suggest that driving can be very stressful with many drivers making decisions that lead them to breaking the prevailing speed limit of the road they are on. It is wise to obtain quality insurance to provide protection in the event of an accident. When driving, constantly check the speed limit and your speedometer to remain legal.