Big differences seen between forces in 2017-18
The number of drivers being detected for speeding is more than 160 times higher in some parts of England and Wales than others.
In 2017-18 – the latest period for which data is available – 1,191 road users were caught speeding in Wiltshire compared with 199,337 in Avon and Somerset, 167 times more.
Analysis of Home Office figures by Dr Adam Snow of Liverpool John Moores University for the RAC Foundation shows that 2,292,536 speeding offences were detected across England and Wales in 2017-18, a 4% rise on the 2,213,257 figure for the previous year (2016-17).
Of these detections:
- 44% resulted in the offender being sent on a speed awareness course
- 34% attracted fixed penalty notices (FPN)
- 11% were later cancelled
- 10% resulted in court action
(Percentages don’t quite add up to 100 because of rounding.)
The police constabularies with the most speeding offences detected:
|
Police force |
Speeding offences detected in 2017-18 |
Percentage change on 2016-17 |
| Avon and Somerset |
199,337 |
8% |
| West Yorkshire |
174,796 |
42% |
| Metropolitan Police
(including City of London) |
139,318 |
58% |
| Thames Valley |
131,401 |
-5% |
| Greater Manchester |
101,421 |
-16% |
The police constabularies with the fewest speeding offences detected:
|
Police force |
Speeding offences detected in 2017-18 |
Percentage change on 2016-17 |
| Wiltshire |
1,191 |
20% |
| Durham |
8,802 |
18% |
| Derbyshire |
10,480 |
3% |
| Cleveland |
11,308 |
-16% |
| Kent |
18,878 |
3% |
Note: Detailed figures for all constabularies in England and Wales can be viewed here. Figures for Gwent, Dyfed-Powys and South Wales should be treated with caution because those offences detected by camera in Gwent and Dyfed Powys are included in the South Wales numbers and cannot easily be separated out. Hence data for Gwent, Dyfed-Powys and South Wales has been excluded from the analysis done to produce the preceding tables.
