A new survey conducted by motor servicing company Fixter, has revealed the worst cities for speeding in the UK. The survey, which polled 1,000 car owners, found that Edinbrugh is the UK’s worst city for speeding, with a staggering 81% of drivers admitting to regularly breaking speed limits.
Edinburgh is closely followed by London and Glasgow, with 76% and 75% respectively, admitting to speeding. Leeds and Bristol make up the top five, both with 73% of their drivers knowingly exceeding speed limits. Similarly, 69% of motorists in Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield admitted to the same offence.
In total, almost 70% of UK drivers admit to driving over the speed limit, with only around a third stating that they would never consciously do so. The findings revealed that 25-30 year-olds were the worst offenders, with a staggering 80% of this age group admitting to speeding. The survey also highlighted that men are more likely to speed than women, with only 24% of men saying they had never consciously broken the speed limit, compared to 36% of women.
Unsurprisingly, the research revealed that the top reason drivers exceed the speed limit is to make up time when running late, with others admitting they speed whenever they think they can get away with it, or when they think it is safe to do so.
While the shockingly high figures highlight that current penalties for speeding aren’t big enough, 60% of drivers feel that the current punishments are sufficient to deter speeding. Presently, the minimum penalty for speeding in the UK is a £100 fine and three points added to the offender’s licence. However, this could increase to £1,000 on normal roads and £2,500 on motorways.
Limvirak Chea, CEO of Fixter, said that while the data may seem alarming, it could help to reduce speeding on UK roads in the future: “Any improvements we see in the number of speeding offences will have a positive impact on road safety in the UK and, if this update helps achieve this effect, it will be a huge success.”
The research by Fixter follows the latest Google Maps update, which now alerts users of oncoming speed cameras.
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