Motorists own up to breaking speed limit

Published on 23/08/2012 02:23

ALMOST four in five motorists admit driving over the speed limit, according to a new survey.

As many as 16 per cent of male drivers and 6 per cent of women motorists said they frequently exceeded limits, the poll by insurance company Admiral found.

A total of 26 per cent agreed it was acceptable to go over the speed limit, with this figure rising to 36 per cent for male drivers.

Drivers aged 18-24 were the ones most likely to think speeding was acceptable, but they were not the ones most likely to exceed limits, the survey of 3,614 motorists showed.

Those aged 30-34 and 35-39 were most likely to speed, with 81 per cent of drivers in these age ranges admitting going over the limit.

In contrast, the figure for 
18 to 24-year-olds admitting speeding was 72 per cent – the same as for those aged 70 and over.

More than half (55 per cent) of drivers thought the motorway speed limit should be raised from the current 70mph to 80mph, while 14 per cent wanted the limit higher than 80mph.

The majority of drivers 
(56 per cent) wanted the speed limit on residential streets to be 30mph, with 40 per cent supporting 20mph limits and only 3 per cent wanting the limit to be 40mph.

Admiral managing director Dave Halliday said: “Our statistics show a worrying trend where people view a speed limit as simply a guide rather than a speed that’s appropriate for that road.

“It’s also a concern to see the different attitude between the genders, particularly the huge number of men who admit to driving over the speed limit and those who believe it’s acceptable.

“It also appears that young motorists could do with some re-education, as so many thinking that speeding is acceptable is not a good sign.”