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

  • Ecuador’s worryingly high fatal crash rate
    June 21, 2013
    Ecuador’s shocking high road fatality rate is giving cause for concern. Official statistics compiled by the World Health Organisation (WHO) suggest that Ecuador is second only to Venezuela in Latin America with regard to fatalities on the road network. The WHO figures show that Ecuador has an average of 28 deaths/100,000 inhabitants from road crashes, well above the global average of 18 deaths/100,000 inhabitants. Only Venezuela’s even more startling figure of 37 deaths/100,000 inhabitants is higher in Lati
  • The radically changing face of UK highways management
    May 14, 2014
    The British Government policy paper ‘Action for Roads: A network for the 21st century’ sets out radical change to the strategic way roads are funded and managed – including plans to turn the Highways Agency into a Government-owned company and a pledge to invest over €33.4 billion (£28 billion) in roads maintenance between 2015 and 2020. Jenny Moten, Highways Agency divisional director for Network Services, gave a keynote presentation on the new approach to strategic highways management during the Road Safet
  • Thailand’s dangerous days for festival
    April 20, 2018
    Thailand’s recent Songkran Festival period saw a worrying spike in road crashes and fatalities. There were 418 road deaths over the seven day festival period, held in April, an increase of 7% over the 390 fatalities recorded for the event in 2017. The Road Safety Centre's report said that the number of crashes during the seven day festival hit 3,724 for 2018, compared with 3,690 in 2017, while injuries grew to 3,897 in 2018 from 3,808 in 2017.
  • FMCSA criticised for not promoting significant truck safety improvements
    May 1, 2012
    American Trucking Associations president and CEO Bill Graves has praised the efforts of the nation's truck drivers, safety directors and law enforcement officers for their contribution to the continued progress in the industry's safety record. "Based on the latest report from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), fatal crashes involving a large truck have fallen 31 per cent from 2007 to 2009 and crashes resulting in injury have fallen 30 per cent," Graves said following a review of FMCSA'