Travelling fast in the UK

The Department for Transport published statistics today for motor vehicle speeds for 2006. They surveyed 36 sites where a 30 or 40 mph limit applies and at 60 other sites including motorways.

The levels of exceeding the speed limit are staggering and make you wonder why the limits are not reviewed.

54 % of cars on motorways exceeeded the speed limit (2005 56%).

49 % of all car drivers on 30 mph built-up roads exceeded the speed limit compared with 65 % in 2001 and 72 per cent 10 earlier in 1996.

On 40 mph built-up roads, 28 % of car drivers exceeded the speed limit, this is an increase of 4 per cent on the 2005 level.

On major, non-built-up single carriageway roads, 76 % of articulated heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) exceeded their 40 mph limit (28 % by more than 10 mph). The average speed recorded for articulated HGVs on these roads was 46 mph, just 2 mph less than the average speed of cars (48 mph), for which the limit on these roads is 60 mph.

The DOT would do us a favour by providing these alongside accident / death / injury statistics.