Speeding ‘less acceptable’ than five years ago, suggests survey
The findings of a new survey show ‘positive long-term trends’ in relation to speeding behaviour – with motorists now considering it less acceptable than five years ago. The survey forms part of IAM RoadSmart’s annual Safety Culture Report, which tracks drivers’ changing attitudes to key road safety issues over time.
Out of the 2,000 motorists surveyed, 43% thought it was acceptable to drive up to 80mph on a motorway – down from 55% in 2016. Just under a quarter of respondents (23%) thought it was acceptable to drive faster than 80mph – down from 28% in 2016.
However, one in five of those surveyed still think it is acceptable to drive 5mph over the speed limit on a residential street – and nearly one in ten thought it was acceptable to drive at these speeds outside a school.
IAM RoadSmart describes these figures as “disconcerting”. The road safety charity adds that while its survey shows there has been a significant improvement towards speeding, the figures are still “worryingly high”.
Neil Greig, IAM RoadSmart Director of Policy & Research, said: “While there are signs of improvement, the results of this survey are still deeply concerning and there is clearly much more work to do on education and training.
“Speeding consistently causes more than 4,400 casualties on UK roads each year, which is an average of 12 people a day killed or injured on UK roads.”
