Speeding Capitals

Francesca Hawkins, Corporate Communications Executive, Monday, 10 October 2022
Updated: Wednesday, 10 January 2024
Speeding Capitals header

Where in the UK are the most speeding offences committed?

The penalty for speeding offences in the UK can be quite costly. A minimum fine of £100 is issued, which can rise to £2,500 if the case is taken to court. In addition, are placed on the offender’s licence for 4 years. Depending on the circumstances, drivers may be offered a speed awareness course to educate them on the dangers of speeding and help them avoid re-offending in the future.

A speeding penalty can lead to increased insurance premiums. This, along with fuel, maintenance, and car finance payments, all contribute to higher running costs for your vehicle. But which areas in the UK see the most speeding offences?

We’ve looked at the number of penalties issued for offences by police force area. We also looked at the number of Google searches for ‘speed awareness courses’ to see which county has the highest number of people seeking education on speeding.

The Police Force areas with the most speeding offences

Speeding Capitals key
Top 3 areas for speeding offences
Areas for most speeding offences
  1. Lincolnshire Police Area: 11,519 speed limit offences per 100,000 people 

The area with the most speeding offences per person is Lincolnshire. In a year, the Lincolnshire Police handed out nearly 89,000 notices for speeding offences. Despite the area’s small population of 769,500, an average of 11,519 people per 100,000 committed a speed limit offence, three times more than the national average.

  1. Bedfordshire Police Area: 9,941 speed limit offences per 100,000 people

In second place is the Eastern area of Bedfordshire, with 9,941 people per 100,000 committing speed offences. Bedfordshire’s police area has a population of 706,100, with almost 70,200 speeding violations documented in the last year. 

  1. North Yorkshire Police Area: 9,710 speed limit offences per 100,000 people

The third-highest ranking police force region for speed limit offences is North Yorkshire. The police force area has 820,500 people, and almost 80,000 speed limit offences were committed, with 9,710 speeding offences per 100,000 people in the region.

Police Force areas with the fewest speeding offences

Key
Fewest speeding offences
Fewest speeding offences
  1. Gwent Police Area: 31 speed limit offences per 100,000 people

The fewest speed limit offences occurred in the South Walian county of Gwent. Gwent’s Police Force Area covers just under 589,000 people, and 31 speeding offences were committed for every 100,000 people.

  1. Dyfed-Powys Police Area: 109 speed limit offences per 100,000 people

The police area of Dyfed-Powys covers almost all of mid-Wales, from the English border to the coast. A relatively small number of people (516,100) committed speeding offences, with 109 speeding offences committed for every 100,000 people.

  1. Wiltshire Police Area: 187 speed limit offences per 100,000 people

Wiltshire, a ceremonial county in South West England, had the third-fewest speeding offences per 100,000. There were 187 speeding offences per 100,000 people in the county. This is driven by the fact that 1,397 violations are committed compared to a population of 747,100 people.

Counties with the most speed awareness course searches

Key
Most searches for speeding courses
Most searches for speed awareness courses
  1. West Yorkshire: 559 speed awareness course searches per 100,000 people

West Yorkshire is one of the most populated counties in the country. Over 2.3 million people live in the area, with major cities and towns such as Leeds, Bradford, and Huddersfield within its boundaries. Nearly 600 of these residents, per 100,000 people, searched for speed awareness courses.

  1. Merseyside: 514 Speed awareness searches per 100,000 people

Merseyside, a metropolitan and ceremonial county in North West England, came second for the most searches. It borders Lancashire to the north, Greater Manchester to the east, Cheshire to the south, the Welsh county of Flintshire across the Dee Estuary to the southwest, and the Irish Sea to the west. With a population of over 1.4 million people, 514 people were searching for speed awareness courses per 100,000 people.

  1. West Midlands: 479 speed awareness searches per 100,000 people

The West Midlands county recorded the third most people per 100,000 searching for speed awareness courses, 479 in total. There were 13,980 people in the county searching for it from a population of almost 3 million.

Counties with the fewest speed awareness course searches

Key
Top 3 least searches
Least searches for motoring offences
  1. Cambridgeshire: 283 speed awareness searches per 100,000 people

Cambridgeshire is the English county with the lowest number of speed awareness course searches per 100,000 people. Cambridge’s small population of almost 853,000 recorded only 283 searches per 100,000, nearly 100 searches fewer than the national average.

  1. Nottinghamshire: 289 speed awareness searches per 100,000 people

Nottinghamshire had the second lowest number of speed awareness course searches per 100,000 people, totalling just 289 searches.

  1. Hampshire: 316 speed awareness searches per 100,000 people

The south coast county of Hampshire has the third lowest number of speed awareness Google searches. There were 5,820 searches in Hampshire against a population of over 1.8 million; this resulted in 316 searches per 100,000 people.

Methodology

This data is accurate as of November 2023.

The number of speeding fines handed out by each police force area in the 2021/22 financial year (the most recent year of released data) was sourced from the Home Office’s police powers and procedures.

The City of London has been removed to take account of its low population. Wiltshire was removed due to its significantly low speeding offence statistics.

Google Ads Keyword Planner was used to find the number of searches for ‘speed awareness courses’ in each UK county between November 2022 and October 2023.

The penalties for speeding were taken from GOV.UK.

Speeding Capitals

Where in the UK are the most speeding offences committed?

The penalty for speeding offences in the UK can be quite costly. A minimum fine of £100 is issued, which can rise to £2,500 if the case is taken to court. In addition, are placed on the offender’s licence for 4 years. Depending on the circumstances, drivers may be offered a speed awareness course to educate them on the dangers of speeding and help them avoid re-offending in the future.

A speeding penalty can lead to increased insurance premiums. This, along with fuel, maintenance, and car finance payments, all contribute to higher running costs for your vehicle. But which areas in the UK see the most speeding offences?

We’ve looked at the number of penalties issued for offences by police force area. We also looked at the number of Google searches for ‘speed awareness courses’ to see which county has the highest number of people seeking education on speeding.

The Police Force areas with the most speeding offences

Key
Lincolnshire
Bedfordshire
North Yorkshire
Most speeding offences
  1. Lincolnshire Police Area: 11,519 speed limit offences per 100,000 people 

The area with the most speeding offences per person is Lincolnshire. In a year, the Lincolnshire Police handed out nearly 89,000 notices for speeding offences. Despite the area’s small population of 769,500, an average of 11,519 people per 100,000 committed a speed limit offence, three times more than the national average.

  1. Bedfordshire Police Area: 9,941 speed limit offences per 100,000 people

In second place is the Eastern area of Bedfordshire, with 9,941 people per 100,000 committing speed offences. Bedfordshire’s police area has a population of 706,100, with almost 70,200 speeding violations documented in the last year. 

  1. North Yorkshire Police Area: 9,710 speed limit offences per 100,000 people

The third-highest ranking police force region for speed limit offences is North Yorkshire. The police force area has 820,500 people, and almost 80,000 speed limit offences were committed, with 9,710 speeding offences per 100,000 people in the region.

Police Force areas with the fewest speeding offences

Key
Gwent
Dyfed-Powys
Wiltshire
Fewest speeding offences
  1. Gwent Police Area: 31 speed limit offences per 100,000 people

The fewest speed limit offences occurred in the South Walian county of Gwent. Gwent’s Police Force Area covers just under 589,000 people, and 31 speeding offences were committed for every 100,000 people.

  1. Dyfed-Powys Police Area: 109 speed limit offences per 100,000 people

The police area of Dyfed-Powys covers almost all of mid-Wales, from the English border to the coast. A relatively small number of people (516,100) committed speeding offences, with 109 speeding offences committed for every 100,000 people.

  1. Wiltshire Police Area: 187 speed limit offences per 100,000 people

Wiltshire, a ceremonial county in South West England, had the third-fewest speeding offences per 100,000. There were 187 speeding offences per 100,000 people in the county. This is driven by the fact that 1,397 violations are committed compared to a population of 747,100 people.

Counties with the most speed awareness course searches

Key
West Yorkshire
Merseyside
West Midlands
Most searches for motoring offences
  1. West Yorkshire: 559 speed awareness course searches per 100,000 people

West Yorkshire is one of the most populated counties in the country. Over 2.3 million people live in the area, with major cities and towns such as Leeds, Bradford, and Huddersfield within its boundaries. Nearly 600 of these residents, per 100,000 people, searched for speed awareness courses.

  1. Merseyside: 514 Speed awareness searches per 100,000 people

Merseyside, a metropolitan and ceremonial county in North West England, came second for the most searches. It borders Lancashire to the north, Greater Manchester to the east, Cheshire to the south, the Welsh county of Flintshire across the Dee Estuary to the southwest, and the Irish Sea to the west. With a population of over 1.4 million people, 514 people were searching for speed awareness courses per 100,000 people.

  1. West Midlands: 479 speed awareness searches per 100,000 people

The West Midlands county recorded the third most people per 100,000 searching for speed awareness courses, 479 in total. There were 13,980 people in the county searching for it from a population of almost 3 million.

Counties with the fewest speed awareness course searches

Key
Cambridgeshire
Nottinghamshire
Hampshire
Least searches for education
  1. Cambridgeshire: 283 speed awareness searches per 100,000 people

Cambridgeshire is the English county with the lowest number of speed awareness course searches per 100,000 people. Cambridge’s small population of almost 853,000 recorded only 283 searches per 100,000, nearly 100 searches fewer than the national average.

  1. Nottinghamshire: 289 speed awareness searches per 100,000 people

Nottinghamshire had the second lowest number of speed awareness course searches per 100,000 people, totalling just 289 searches.

  1. Hampshire: 316 speed awareness searches per 100,000 people

The south coast county of Hampshire has the third lowest number of speed awareness Google searches. There were 5,820 searches in Hampshire against a population of over 1.8 million; this resulted in 316 searches per 100,000 people.

Methodology

This data is accurate as of November 2023.

The number of speeding fines handed out by each police force area in the 2021/22 financial year (the most recent year of released data) was sourced from the Home Office’s police powers and procedures.

The City of London has been removed to take account of its low population. Wiltshire was removed due to its significantly low speeding offence statistics.

Google Ads Keyword Planner was used to find the number of searches for ‘speed awareness courses’ in each UK county between November 2022 and October 2023.

The penalties for speeding were taken from GOV.UK.

 
Francesca Hawkins, Corporate Communications Executive
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