Skip to main content

IAM’s FOI reveals England and Wales’ worst speeding offenders

A motorist travelling at 149mph (239.8kph) on the M25 at Swanley, Kent, south-east England, holds the record for the highest speed clocked by a speed camera in England and Wales between April 2013 and May 2014. The astonishing figure was revealed following Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to 39 police authorities by the IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorists). Other shocking figures from the 85% of police authorities that responded to the FOI request revealed that the highest speed recorded on a 30mph
May 28, 2014 Read time: 3 mins
A motorist travelling at 149mph (239.8kph) on the M25 at Swanley, Kent, south-east England, holds the record for the highest speed clocked by a speed camera in England and Wales between April 2013 and May 2014.

The astonishing figure was revealed following Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to 39 police authorities by the IAM (5125 Institute of Advanced Motorists).

Other shocking figures from the 85% of police authorities that responded to the FOI request revealed that the highest speed recorded on a 30mph (48.28kph) road during the analysed period was 96mph (154.49kph) on the B1288, on Leam Lane, Gateshead, north-east England. The highest speed recorded on a 50mph (80.46kph) road was on the A414 Stanstead Abbotts, Hertfordshire, south-east England, where a motorist clocked 119mph (191.51kph). Meanwhile, the highest speed recorded on a 60mph (96.56kph) road was 127mph (204.38kph) on the A413 Wendover By-Pass, Wendover, Buckinghamshire, south-east England.

IAM chief executive Simon Best said, “One hundred and forty nine miles per hour equates to nearly two and a half miles in a minute.  If anything goes wrong at that speed, you’re unlikely to walk away and you are a grave danger to the innocent road users around you.”

“Speed limits are a limit. They are not a target to beat. Unfortunately this message has not got through to many motorists, and it’s clear that efforts to make speeding as socially unacceptable as drink driving continue to fail.  That’s why we need sustained campaigning by the government, motor industry and charities to keep ramming home the message that excessive speed kills.  Catching speeders at two or even three times the limit also shows the importance of keeping speed cameras at well-known black spots.”

The guidelines to magistrates in England and Wales on sentencing for speeding include issuing a fine plus 6 points or disqualification from driving for 7-56 days if convicted of driving between 101-110mph (162.54kph-177.02kph) on a 70mph (112.65kph) road; of driving at 76-85mph (122.31-136.79kph) on a 50mph (80.46kph) road; or of driving at 51-60mph (82.07-96.56kph) on a 30mph (48.28kph) road.

Best added, “The current guidelines on sentencing for excessive speeding offences are out of sync with modern roads, modern vehicles and society’s view of the value of lives lost in crashes.  We all share the roads with these speeding drivers and the government must crack down on them with more consistent penalties and tougher measures to break their addiction for speed.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Poor road safety causes too many deaths
    December 13, 2016
    Road safety is an issue that rarely grabs headlines, although it is something that affects people around the globe. Road deaths account for a shockingly high percentage of deaths worldwide, with the risks being particularly high in developing countries. This poses such a threat to public health that the United Nations has been taking steps to address the issue, commencing with its Decade of Action on Road Safety in 2010. The focus has been on developing countries, due to the rapid increase in road deaths in
  • Better road safety can save lives worldwide
    January 24, 2017
    Road safety is an issue that rarely grabs headlines, although it is something that affects people around the globe. Road deaths account for a shockingly high percentage of deaths worldwide, with the risks being particularly high in developing countries. This poses such a threat to public health that the United Nations has been taking steps to address the issue, commencing with its Decade of Action on Road Safety in 2010. The focus has been on developing countries, due to the rapid increase in road deaths in
  • Volvo CE stages successful six-site paving demo
    April 11, 2013
    Volvo Construction Equipment’s (CE) dealer in the Netherlands, Kuiken, recently hosted a live, five-day demonstration program using a Volvo P7820C ABG paver machine. On a road trip across the country, the Kuiken team visited six different customers, travelling more than 1,700km in total, and clocking up more than 60 hours of paving. “We wanted to test how the market and existing customers, as well as potential ones, would react to the Volvo P7820C ABG machine,” says Arjen Mostert, sales & support manager of
  • RB22 separators ''offer maximum safety''
    July 5, 2012
    Road traffic accidents are expensive and often frightening, and now most drivers will have encountered an average 80km/hr speed limit on a fast moving road. Keeping both lanes of traffic separate is the key to traffic safety, but when a driver loses control of a vehicle, and heads for the other lane of oncoming traffic, there is the potential for a serious accident. Having a barrier system in place that can keep the traffic safely separated reduces the risks for everyone concerned.