May 30, 2023
Abby Nuttall
Articles
Speeding continues to be one of the most prolific driving offences in the UK.
In 2021 we sent FOIs (Freedom of Information Requests) to police forces across the UK, asking who had handed out the most speeding fines in the last year and where. The results revealed that Greater London was the area with the most speeding offences. While the A282 In Kent was the road where drivers were caught speeding the most.
To see if the number of offences had increased or decreased over time, we decided to ask the same question again.
We can reveal that The Met Police have handed out a staggering 1,494,713 fines, both by fixed cameras and the police themselves, from 2019 - 31st January 2023.
.jpg)
The Met Police Hands Out Nearly 1.5 Million Speeding Tickets in the Last Four Years
Since the start of January 2019 to the end of January 2023, the Met Police has handed out an astounding 1,494,713 fines, from their Traffic Offence Reports (Manned Equipment) and their Speeding Offences (Auto Camera Devices).
The Met serves the Greater London region, excluding the City of London. According to Statista the force is the largest in the UK, with 33,984 operating officers, meaning you could be more likely to get caught out with driving offences, due to the number of police in the area.
According to the Highway Code, you could get a £1,000 fine for speeding in the UK, which increases to £2,500 on motorways. Drivers could also get 3-6 points on their licence and possibly be disqualified. The minimum fine you can receive is £100.
If all of these offences were charged the minimum of £100, drivers in the Greater London area could have paid at least nearly £150 million in speeding charges over the last four years.
Top 10 areas for speeding
|
Rank | Police Force | Speeding Offences 1st January 2019 - 31st January 2023 |
1. | Met | 1,494,713 |
2. | West Yorkshire | 796,770 |
3. | Avon and Somerset | 549,993 |
4. | Essex | 541,011 |
5. | Nottinghamshire | 351,347* |
6. | Surrey | 347,107** |
7. | West Midlands | 333,422 |
8. | Kent | 322,193 |
9. | North Wales | 271,025*** |
10. | Merseyside | 262,072 |
* Camera offences
** Fixed penalty notices and first Notices of Intended prosecution
*** Fixed and Officer Witnessed Number of notices
West Yorkshire Has 88% Fewer Speeding Offences than The Met, but is Still Ranked Second with Nearly 800,000 Fines
Although drivers in West Yorkshire have significantly fewer speeding offences than those in Greater London, they are still second on the list of the areas with the most speeding offences.
Since 2019, to the end of January this year, 796,770 drivers have been caught speeding by speed cameras or officers in the area.
West Yorkshire Police covers around 2.2 million people living in and around Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield. Meaning 1 in 3 people have been caught speeding during that time.
Third on the list was the area covered by Avon and Somerset police, which had 549,993 speeding offences since 2019. Avon and Somerset Police operate in the areas of Bristol, Somerset and South Gloucestershire. The force area covers around 1,844 square miles.
.jpg)
North Yorkshire Drivers are the Safest, Causing the Least Amount of Speeding Offences
Drivers in North Yorkshire are deemed the safest in the country, having caused the least speeding offences in the last four years. North Yorkshire police revealed they had only handed out 2,043 fines in that time. However, the area does not have any fixed cameras.
West Mercia Police force was the second bottom of the list with 7,333, but like North Yorkshire, only operated hand-held fines.
The area with the lowest amount of combined officer and camera speeding offences was Gwent police in Wales. 34,295 drivers were caught speeding in the 600 square miles radius they cover. Places include Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire, Newport and Torfaen.
Director of Wessex Fleet Simon Naylor commented on the findings: “Our research reveals that in the last few years there have been over 8 million speeding offences caught around the country, which is a dangerous and scary amount to think about on our roads. Speeding can cause accidents and harm to yourself and other drivers, as well as being an illegal offence. If you need to be somewhere make sure you leave in plenty of time, to avoid the need to increase your speed and start driving dangerously. If you are concerned about your business fleet, telematics can help keep an eye on your vehicles, to help gain information about driving speeds but also the general condition of the car, to help the safety of your workers and those on the roads.”
Methodology
FOIs were sent to all 45 Police forces across the UK asking for ‘The number of speeding offences caught in your area, from the start of January 2019 to the end of January 2023. This includes fixed cameras, and those caught by police, as well as the roads where these speeding offences occurred.’
The number of offences were combined to show the areas with the most speeding offences. It is noted if the area doesn’t operate fixed cameras, or if the police force reported them as notices.
37 police forces responded to our request, however, some did refuse to comment or only answered part of the question. Therefore some police forces were removed from the dataset.
If you’re worried about speeding within your fleet, visit our fleet management page to find out about the services we offer that can help, as well as taking a look at our driver training programme.