The UK’s speeding hotspots revealed
A new study has revealed the UK’s speeding ticket hotspots — and if you drive in Avon and Somerset you should be keeping an even closer eye on your speedometer than you were before.
Research by price comparison website GoCompare has named the police forces that both handed out the most tickets and had the most active speed cameras during the two-year period between June 2016 and May 2018.
And Avon and Somerset came top on both accounts, handing out more than double the amount of tickets than the second highest force and having eight of the UK’s top 10 most active cameras.
However, the worst speeding offence was recorded by Merseyside Police, who clocked a motorist travelling at a staggering 148mph in a 50mph speed limit.
Largest amount of speeding tickets given
According to the study, Avon and Somerset Police reported a whopping 386,969 offences over the two years – 240,000 more than any other UK force polled.
Bedfordshire Police recorded the second highest amount of offences at 143,052, just ahead of West Mercia Police, which handed out 143,039 tickets.
At the other end of the scale, Cleveland Police dished out the fewest tickets, registering just 5,754 offenders in the two-year period.
The study also found that most speeding offences were committed in August (191,898), while the least number of offenders were caught in December (143,891).
Busiest motorways most prolific for speeding
Avon and Somerset is also home to the country’s most prolific speed camera. Located on the M32 Severn Beach rail line overbridge, it recorded 22,350 offenders in the first five months of 2018 alone.
Six of the 10 most active cameras were located on the Avon and Somerset stretches of the M4 and M5, well-known for being some of the UK’s busiest sections of motorway.
The remaining two cameras in the top 10 were located in Bedfordshire Police’s constabulary, on the M1 and the A1081 Airport Way, respectively.
GoCompare contacted 45 forces and based its study on the information provided by the 24 forces that responded to their request.
A spokesperson for the company added: “Not all constabularies were able to provide the same quantity of information, therefore only 16 were able to be given a full detailed breakdown.”
Want to know more about speed cameras? We’ve got the perfect guide for you, where we uncover everything you need to know and more.
