“Chilling” Speeds Defy Belief

Most drivers would think twice about exceeding the speed limit by 10 or 20 mph.

A handful of motorists caught by UK police last year apparently decided the speed limits were more of a suggestion than a rule.

A new RAC analysis published on 8 July has revealed some of the most extreme speeding offences recorded across Britain, and the numbers are genuinely hard to believe.

The study, based on Freedom of Information requests sent to police forces around the UK, found examples of drivers travelling at speeds more commonly associated with racing circuits than residential streets.

Among the most shocking cases was a driver clocked at 114mph on a 30mph road in Aylestone, Leicestershire.

Another motorist was caught travelling at 89mph on a 20mph stretch of road in Deeside, North Wales.

To put that into perspective, both vehicles were travelling at more than three times the legal limit. What makes some of these figures particularly alarming is where they happened.

Several offences occurred on roads used daily by local residents, pedestrians, cyclists and schoolchildren.

In Cheshire, a driver was caught doing 80mph on a 30mph road close to schools during the afternoon.

Elsewhere, motorists were recorded travelling at 64mph in a 20mph zone in Halifax and 60mph in a 20mph zone in Southport during daylight hours.

The RAC's wider findings suggest these weren’t isolated incidents. Across 33 police force areas, more than 271,000 drivers were caught travelling at 40mph or above in 30mph limits during the last year. Meanwhile, almost 33,000 motorists were recorded at 30mph or more in 20mph zones across 28 police force areas.

If those figures seem high, the fastest speeds recorded anywhere in the country take the story to another level entirely.

Police recorded vehicles travelling at 161mph on both the A5 in Shropshire and the M6 between Stoke-on-Trent and Stafford. Other drivers were caught at 160mph, 158mph and 155mph on major roads across England.

While speeds above 150mph occurred on high-speed roads, safety experts are far more concerned by extreme speeding in built-up areas.

At motorway speeds, drivers are already covering significant distances every second. On residential roads, where pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles regularly interact, the consequences of losing control can be catastrophic.

Official government data highlights why the issue remains a major road safety concern. Speed continues to be a significant factor in fatal collisions; with hundreds of deaths each year linked to drivers travelling too fast for the conditions or exceeding the legal limit.

The most remarkable aspect of the RAC study may not be the record-breaking figures themselves. It's the fact that some of the worst offences occurred not on deserted motorways in the middle of the night, but on ordinary roads where families walk, children cross and people go about their daily lives.

And that's what makes these speeds so chilling. They weren't just fast. They happened in places where nobody would ever expect to encounter a vehicle travelling at motorway pace.