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Drivers exceed speed limits on country roads more than any other road type
08 March 2023
More deaths occur on country roads than any other road type in the UK, yet 48 per cent of drivers admit to breaking the 60mph speed limit.
This figure is based on data from a survey of 3,102 motorists which appeared in the RAC Report on Motoring and a four per cent rise compared with 2021.
Other key statistics from the report include:
- Eight per cent confessed to having broken speed limits on country roads this frequently.
- Forty per cent admitted to breaking the 60mph speed limit occasionally on up to half of journeys on country roads.
- There was a total of 11,827 collisions on 60mph country roads in 2021, with 514 fatalities (resulting in a fatality rate of 4 per cent – higher than the motorway fatality rate).
- 43 per cent of respondents said they had exceeded the 70mph limit on motorways and dual carriageways on up to half of trips in the past 12 months, and a further 16 per cent admitted to speeding on most journeys.
- This figure increased by 5 per cent compared with 2021.
- 40 per cent of drivers admitted to exceeding 30mph speed limits at least occasionally, and 46 per cent said they exceeded 20mph limits.
- The most common excuse given by respondents (42 per cent) for exceeding 70mph speed limits on motorways was that ‘they were travelling at the same speed as other motorists’.
- 32 per cent used the same excuse for breaking 60mph limits.
- Almost half of those who break 20mph limits said they did so because they thought the limit was inappropriate.
RAC road safety spokesman Simon Williams said, “While the number of fatalities on our roads is no longer falling, we certainly don’t want to see an increase in deaths. We think the Government should address the issue of fatalities on 60mph rural roads by advising roads authorities to reduce limits on the most dangerous stretches to more appropriate levels.
“Drivers sometimes forget or underestimate the role speed plays in fatal and serious collisions as they tend not to see it in the same light as offences like drink or drug-driving or talking on a handheld phone. In fact, in 2021 as many as 253 people lost their lives in collisions where someone was exceeding the speed limit.”
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