24,000 drivers have been caught speeding at over 100mph in five years
A new report reveals that speed related road deaths are at their highest level for a decade
An investigation by the BBC into the highest vehicle speeds recorded by the police over a five-year period has revealed that over 24,000 drivers have been caught on camera travelling at over 100mph. The highest recorded speed was 164mph by two vehicles on separate occasions, one in Manchester and one on the M25 in Kent, with the former using a cloned plate and the latter in a Seat Leon whose driver police were unable to trace.
Chief Inspector Craig West, head of roads policing at Kent Police, told the BBC; ‘Speed does kill. People need to reduce their speed and not drive to the full speed limit.’ He went onto say; ‘It's devastating for the families and friends of the victims and for the officers. It really has a lasting impact on a lot of people, which is why it's important to get that message across to the small minority of selfish drivers that continue to speed.’
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His comments are backed up by Department for Transport figures from 2023 which show that 314 people died in crashes on the UK’s roads where a contributory factor was the driver exceeding the speed limit. That figure is the highest it’s been in a decade.
Speeding can also have unwanted consequences for drivers. According to The Sentencing Council the maximum fine for speeding is £1000, although this rises to £2500 on a motorway. There have been several high-profile cases in recent years when drivers wildly in excess of the speed limit have been given fines and even prison sentences. A Humberside driver was disqualified from driving for four months and fined £950 for driving at 163mph, while a Porsche driver on the M1 near London caught doing the same speed was banned for six months.
David Sonn, a road-traffic lawyer, told the BBC that speeding drivers caught at over 110mph would almost inevitably face a ban and could also be charged with dangerous driving; ‘That can attract up to two years in prison and will attract a minimum mandatory ban of one year and you cannot resume driving until you've passed an extended driving test.’
