Speed and speeding offences on the increase
A survey reveals the number of speeding offences is on the increase and reveals a shocking depth of ignorance of the law among motorists in general. Channel 4 News asks, would you have done better?
The total number of offences in 2011 rose 6 per cent compared with 2010, according to figures from insurance company LV=. According to data from 36 of the police forces in Britain who responded, there were 955,459 incidents of speeding in 2011 – up from 899,934 in 2010.
A separate survey of 1,531 drivers by LV= showed that since 2009, 9 per cent had been caught speeding and 17 per cent of these had been caught two or three times.
Offending speeders drove at an average 56mph in 2011 compared with 54mph in 2010, the statistics from a freedom of information request to police forces showed.
The 152mph speeder was caught by Sussex Police, while an offender was stopped by Tayside Police doing 149mph and a driver in the Thames Valley Police area was clocked doing 142mph.
Speed limits unknown
The survey showed that 71 per cent could not name the speed limit on a rural road, single carriageway, dual carriageway, motorway or a road in a built-up area.
When shown photographs of different roads, 33 per cent could not correctly identify the speed limit for a single carriageway and 52 per cent did not know the speed limit on a rural road without street lights.
As many as 30 per cent believe the 70mph speed limit is too slow, while 64 per cent welcome the planned speed limit rise to 80mph. As many as 41per cent say they routinely break the current 70mph limit when they think they can get away with it.
Government proposals to increase speeding fines from £60 to as much as £100 to compensate victims of crime were not welcomed, with 40 per cent seeing the increase as an unfair tax and 42 per cent saying it was unfair to penalise drivers for other people’s crimes.
Speed angel or speed demon: do you know your limits?
– What is the speed limit for a rural road for cars?
– What is the legal limit for dual carriageways (HGVs)?
– How fast are you allowed to drive by law in built-up areas (cars)?
– On a road without street lights, what is the legal speed limit?
If you want to sneak a peek at the answers, you can find them in the Highway Code