Accredited official statistics

Vehicle speed compliance statistics for Great Britain: 2023

Published 18 July 2024

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

About this release

This statistical release presents estimates of vehicle compliance with speed limits in free-flowing conditions on roads in Great Britain.

These are based on speed data from a sample of the Department for Transport’s Automatic Traffic Counters (ATCs), chosen to exclude locations where external factors might restrict driver behaviour (for example junctions, hills, sharp bends and speed cameras).

The statistics provide insights into speeds at which drivers choose to travel when free to do so, but are not estimates of average speeds across the whole network, which are available separately.

The release also presents information from a range of other sources relevant to vehicle speeds and compliance.

The statistics within this release are accredited official statistics (except where otherwise stated) and were independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation in February 2013. For more information, see the About these statistics section.

In 2023, under free-flowing traffic conditions, 44% of car drivers exceeded the speed limit on 30 miles per hour (mph) roads compared to 9% on national speed limit single carriageway roads and 45% on motorways.

Table 1: Percentage of vehicles exceeding the speed limits by road class in Great Britain, 2023

Road Type	Cars	LCVs (vans)	Articulated HGVs	Rigid HGVs	Short Buses	Long Buses	Motorcycles
30mph roads	44	45	36	37	24	30	51
National Speed Limit Single Carriageways	9	Not available	36	40	46	50	25
Motorways	45	47	2	Not available	Not available	Not available	55

In general, over the longer term there has been a slow decrease in the percentage of vehicles exceeding the speed limit on 30 mph roads and relatively little change on motorways. This is based on a comparison of the average for the 5 years from 2011 to 2015 with the average for 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2023 (the latest available 5 years excluding 2020 and 2021).

Compliance levels in 2020 and 2021 were affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, these years had lower levels of speed limit compliance which may be partly attributed to lower traffic levels seen throughout Great Britain during this time.  

Understanding and interpreting these statistics

What do free flow speeds tell us?

Free flow speeds reflect the speeds drivers may travel at when free to do so.

They are not representative of the level of speeding across the whole road network, which we would expect to be lower.

What roads are covered?

Only sites where the road conditions are free flowing, for example where there are no junctions, hills, sharp bends, speed enforcement cameras or other traffic calming measures. The statistics do not cover roads where the road layout or traffic calming measures are likely to constrain vehicle speeds - this includes smart motorways.

Comparing data between years

Comparisons of patterns in vehicle speed limit compliance and speeds over time should generally only be made when there is a consistent pattern over periods of 5 or more years, unless the changes are large, and the context is clear.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and, to a lesser extent, 2021 stands as a rare case where the changes were large and the context clear.

In this report, comments about long term speed compliance trends have generally been based on comparing 5-year averages, additionally taking into account whether the underlying data samples are broadly comparable, and whether other external factors may have influenced compliance (for example, speed limit changes).

Definitions

Exceeding the speed limit

Vehicles travelling at a speed higher than their applicable speed limit are defined as “exceeding the speed limit”.

Free flow speed

Free flow speeds are observed in locations where external factors which might restrict driver behaviour (for example junctions, hills, sharp bends and speed enforcement cameras) are not present.

Speed limits

Speed limits for cars are 70 mph on motorways and 60 mph on National Speed Limit (NSL) single carriageways. Details for other vehicle types can be found in the Background Information section, and a complete breakdown of national speed limits can be found on the GOV.UK speed limits webpage.

Car compliance with speed limits

Figure 1: Distribution of car speeds by road type in Great Britain, 2023 (Table SPE0111)

Description of figure 1: Figure 1 presents 3 histograms showing the distribution of car speeds on 30 mph roads, NSL single carriageways and motorways and 3 bar charts showing the percentages of cars exceeding the speed limit and exceeding the speed limit by 10 mph or more on each of these road types.

Figure 1 shows that:

• under free-flowing conditions, 44% of cars exceeded the speed limit on 30 mph roads, 9% did so on NSL single carriageways and 45% did so on motorways
• the percentage of cars that exceeded the speed limit by over 10 mph was 4% on 30 mph roads, 1% on NSL single carriageway roads and 8% on motorways

Over the longer term, the percentage of cars exceeding the speed limit decreased on 30 mph roads from an average of 55% during 2011 to 2015 to 50% during 2017 to 2023. There was relatively little change in cars exceeding the speed limit on motorways (48% during 2011 to 2015 and 47% during 2017 to 2023). This is based on a comparison of the average for the 5 years from 2011 to 2015 with the average for 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2023 (the latest available 5 years excluding 2020 and 2021, which were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic). Consistent data are not available to make a robust comparison for cars on NSL single carriageway roads over the longer term.

Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) compliance with speed limits

Figure 2: Distribution of van speeds by road type in Great Britain, 2023 (Table SPE0111)

Description of figure 2: Figure 2 presents 2 histograms showing the distribution of van speeds on 30 mph roads and motorways and 2 bar charts showing the percentages of vans exceeding the speed limit and exceeding the speed limit by 10 mph or more on each of these road types.

Figure 2 shows that:

• under free-flowing conditions, 45% of vans exceeded the speed limit on 30 mph roads and 47% did so on motorways
• the percentage of vans that exceeded the speed limit by over 10 mph was 5% on 30 mph roads and 10% on motorways

Over the longer term, the percentage of vans exceeding the speed limit decreased on 30 mph roads from 58% during 2011 to 2015 to 52% during 2017 to 2023. There was little change in the percentage of vans exceeding the limit on motorways (49% during 2011 to 2015 and 48% during 2017 to 2023). This is based on a comparison of the average for the 5 years from 2011 to 2015 with the average for 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2023 (the latest available 5 years excluding 2020 and 2021, which were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic).

Statistics on van compliance on national speed limit single carriageways cannot be produced. The speed limit applicable to different types of van on this road type depends on the maximum laden weight and construction of the vehicle, which cannot be determined by our data source.

Articulated Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVA) compliance with speed limits

Figure 3: Distribution of Articulated HGV speeds by road type in Great Britain, 2023 (Table SPE0111)

Description of figure 3: Figure 3 presents 3 histograms showing the distribution of articulated HGV speeds on 30 mph roads, NSL single carriageways and motorways and 3 bar charts showing the percentages of articulated HGVs exceeding the speed limit and exceeding the speed limit by 10 mph or more on each of these road types.

Figure 3 shows that:

• under free-flowing conditions, 36% of articulated HGVs exceeded the speed limit on 30 mph roads, 36% did so on NSL single carriageways and 2% did so on motorways
• the percentage of articulated HGVs that exceeded the speed limit by over 10 mph was 2% on 30 mph roads, less than 1% on NSL single carriageway roads and less than 1% on motorways

The low proportion of articulated HGVs exceeding the speed limit on motorways may be influenced by legislation requiring all HGVs to be fitted with devices limiting their speed to 56 mph.

Over the longer term, the percentage of articulated HGVs exceeding the speed limit on 30 mph roads decreased from 46% during 2011 to 2015 to 41% during 2017 to 2023, while on motorways it remained at around 1%. This is based on a comparison of the average for the 5 years from 2011 to 2015 with the average for 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2023 (the latest available 5 years excluding 2020 and 2021, which were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic). Data are not available to make longer term comparisons for NSL single carriageway roads.

Rigid Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVR) compliance with speed limits

Figure 4: Distribution of HGVR speeds by road type in Great Britain, 2023 (Table SPE0111)

Description of figure 4: Figure 4 presents 2 histograms showing the distribution of rigid HGV speeds on 30 mph roads and NSL single carriageways and 2 bar charts showing the percentages of rigid HGVs exceeding the speed limit and exceeding the speed limit by 10 mph or more on each of these road types.

Figure 4 shows that:

• under free-flowing conditions, 37% of rigid HGVs exceeded the speed limit on 30 mph roads and 40% did so on NSL single carriageways
• the percentage of rigid HGVs that exceeded the speed limit by over 10 mph was 3% on 30 mph roads and 3% on NSL single carriageway roads

The proportion of rigid HGVs significantly exceeding the speed limit on NSL single carriageways may be influenced by legislation requiring all HGVs to be fitted with devices limiting their speed to 56 mph.

Over the longer term, the percentage of rigid HGVs exceeding the speed limit on 30 mph roads decreased from 53% during 2011 to 2015 to 44% during 2017 to 2023. This is based on a comparison of the average for the 5 years from 2011 to 2015 with the average for 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2023 (the latest available 5 years excluding 2020 and 2021, which were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic). Data are not available to make longer term comparisons for NSL single carriageway roads due to changes in the speed limit in 2015.

Statistics on HGVR compliance levels on motorways cannot be produced. There are significant numbers of HGVRs both above and below the 7.5 tonne gross weight threshold, which are subject to different motorway speed limits. Our data does not collect weight information to enable vehicle data to be matched to the applicable speed limit.

Short bus compliance with speed limits

Figure 5: Distribution of short bus speeds by road type in Great Britain, 2023 (Table SPE0111)

Description of figure 5: Figure 5 presents 2 histograms showing the distribution of short bus (under 12 metres) speeds on 30 mph roads and NSL single carriageways and 2 bar charts showing the percentages of short buses exceeding the speed limit and exceeding the speed limit by 10 mph or more on each of these road types.

Figure 5 shows that:

• under free-flowing conditions, 24% of short buses exceeded the speed limit on 30 mph roads and 46% did so on NSL single carriageways
• the percentage of short buses that exceeded the speed limit by over 10 mph was 1% on 30 mph roads and 5% on NSL single carriageway roads

Consistent data are not available to make a robust comparison of changes over the longer term for short buses.

Statistics on short bus speed limit compliance on motorways are not published, as the sample size did not meet the data quality threshold required for publishing.

Long bus compliance with speed limits

Figure 6: Distribution of long bus speeds by road type in Great Britain, 2023 (Table SPE0111)

Description of figure 6: Figure 6 presents 2 histograms showing the distribution of long bus (over 12 metres) speeds on 30 mph roads and NSL single carriageways and 2 bar charts showing the percentages of long buses exceeding the speed limit and exceeding the speed limit by 10 mph or more on each of these road types.

Figure 6 shows that:

• under free-flowing conditions, 30% of long buses exceeded the speed limit on 30 mph roads and 50% did so on NSL single carriageways
• the percentage of long buses that exceeded the speed limit by over 10 mph was 1% on 30 mph roads and 6% on NSL single carriageway roads

Consistent data are not available to make a robust comparison of changes over the longer term for long buses.

Statistics on long bus speed compliance on motorways are not published, as the sample size did not meet the data quality threshold required for publishing.

Motorcycle compliance with speed limits

Figure 7: Distribution of motorcycle speeds by road type in Great Britain, 2023 (Table SPE0111)

Description of figure 7: Figure 7 presents 3 histograms showing the distribution of motorcycle speeds on 30 mph roads, NSL single carriageways and motorways and 3 bar charts showing the percentages of motorcycles exceeding the speed limit and exceeding the speed limit by 10 mph or more on each of these road types.

Figure 7 shows that:

• under free-flowing conditions, 51% of motorcycles exceeded the speed limit on 30 mph roads, 25% did so on NSL single carriageways and 55% did so on motorways
• the percentage of motorcycles that exceeded the speed limit by over 10 mph was 10% on 30 mph roads, 8% on NSL single carriageway roads and 17% on motorways

Data are not available to make a comparison for motorcycles changes over the longer term.

Speed limit compliance by time of day

Figure 8: Percentage of vehicles exceeding the speed limit by time of day in Great Britain, 2023 (Table SPE0113)

Description of figure 8: Figure 8 presents seven line charts showing the percentages of cars, vans, articulated HGVs, rigid HGVs, short buses, long buses and motorcycles exceeding the speed limit by time of day on 30 mph roads, NSL single carriageways and motorways. 

Figure 8 shows that:

• most vehicle classes on all 3 road types saw a higher percentage of vehicles exceeding the speed limit during the night (between 6pm and 5am the following day) and a lower percentage during the day (between 6am and 5pm)
• on 30 mph roads the percentage of cars exceeding the speed limit during the day was 43%, compared to 59% exceeding the speed limit during the night
• on NSL single carriageways the percentage of cars exceeding the speed limit during the day was 9%, compared to 22% exceeding the speed limit during the night
• on motorways the percentage of cars exceeding the speed limit during the day was 42%, compared to 44% exceeding the speed limit during the night

Potentially lower levels of road traffic in the night could allow for higher levels of speed limit exceedance.

Speed limit compliance by day of week

Figure 9: Percentage of vehicles exceeding the speed limit on weekdays and weekends in Great Britain, 2023 (Table SPE0115)

Description of figure 9: Figure 9 presents seven bar charts showing the percentages of cars, vans, articulated HGVs, rigid HGVs, short buses, long buses and motorcycles exceeding the speed limit on weekdays and weekends on 30 mph roads, NSL single carriageways and motorways. 

Figure 9 shows that:

• for most vehicle classes and road types, the percentage of vehicles exceeding the speed limit on weekends were higher than the percentage of vehicles exceeding the speed limits on weekdays
• on 30 mph roads, 42% of cars exceeded the speed limit on weekdays, compared to 48% on weekends
• on NSL single carriageways, 9% of cars exceeded the speed limit on weekdays, compared to 11% on weekends
• on motorways, 43% of cars exceeded the speed limit on weekdays, compared to 48% on weekends

On all road types, the percentage of vehicles exceeding the speed limit is generally consistent from Monday to Friday and from Saturday to Sunday. Therefore, we have been able to categorise speed limit exceedance by weekday or weekend.

Exceeding the speed limit by day of the year

Figure 10: Percentage of vehicles exceeding the speed limit by day of the year in Great Britain, 2023 (Table SPE0116)

Description of figure 10: Figure 10 presents seven line charts showing the percentages of cars, vans, articulated HGVs, rigid HGVs, short buses, long buses and motorcycles exceeding the speed limit by day of the year on 30 mph roads, NSL single carriageways and motorways. 

Figure 10 shows that:

For most vehicle types, there were generally only small differences in speed limit compliance throughout the year. This is despite seasonal factors such as differences in light or weather conditions which may affect speed limit compliance through the year, particularly for motorcycles.

Average free flow speeds by road and vehicle type

This section presents the average free flow speeds at which drivers choose to travel as observed at sampled ATC locations. The average free flow speed for each vehicle type is correlated with the applicable speed limit for that road type. These are not average speeds across the whole network, these can be found at road congestion and travel time.

Figure 11: Average free flow speeds by vehicle type and road type in Great Britain, 2023 (Table SPE0111)

Note 1:

All the ‘free flow’ ATC sites on 20 mph roads available for 2023 were in England.

Note 2:

On NSL single carriageway roads, free flow speed data is for England and Wales only.

Description of figure 11: Figure 11 is a bar chart showing the average free flow speeds of cars, vans, articulated HGVs, rigid HGVs, short buses, long buses and motorcycles on 20 mph roads, 30 mph roads, NSL single carriageways and motorways.

Figure 11 shows that:

• for 30 mph roads, the average free flow speed for cars was 30 mph. The average free flow speed for all vehicle types ranged from 27 mph to 31 mph
• for NSL single carriageways, the average free flow speed for cars was 51 mph, and the average free flow speeds were at or below the relevant speed limits for all vehicle types
• for motorways, the average free flow speed for cars was 69 mph. The average free flow speed was at or below the designated speed limit for each vehicle type, with the exception of motorcycles where the average free flow speed was 71 mph
• for 20 mph sites (which are not thought to be representative of all 20 mph roads), the average speed for cars was 25 mph, and the average speeds for all vehicle types ranged from 22 mph to 29 mph

Vehicle speeds on 20 mph roads

The department also has data for a number of ‘free-flow’ sites with 20 mph speed limits, however the data from these sites need to be interpreted with additional caution for the following reasons.

By their nature, roads with 20 mph speed limits are particularly likely to have traffic calming measures in place, or not be ‘free flow’ for other reasons (for example being narrow or having many corners and bends). Department for Transport (DfT) guidance suggests that 20 mph speed limits are most effective when they have traffic calming measures or when average vehicle speeds are already below 24 mph.

The 20 mph ‘free flow’ sites, by contrast, tend to be on ‘through routes’ rather than smaller residential streets – reflecting the constraints both of finding ‘free flow’ traffic conditions and locations suitable for the installation of automatic traffic monitoring equipment. Quieter residential streets, which make up a large proportion of 20 mph roads, will be under-represented in the data.

Therefore the ‘free flow’ 20 mph sites in this data set will tend to be unrepresentative of 20 mph roads in general, and this effect will be much greater than for other speed limits considered above. These factors need to be considered when looking at the results for 20 mph sites available in this data set.

20 mph roads should not be compared year-on-year due to the small number of sites in the sample and the relatively high turnover in sites from year to year.

All of the ‘free flow’ ATC sites on 20 mph roads available for 2023 were in England, so the results for 20 mph roads in this publication should be regarded as relating to England, rather than to Great Britain.

In 2018, DfT published the results of a detailed research study into 20 mph limits on roads without traffic calming measures, which can provide a more detailed and rounded picture for these roads.

Figure 12: Distribution of vehicle speeds on 20 mph roads in England, 2023 (Table SPE0111)

Description of figure 12: Figure 12 presents 7 histograms showing the distribution of vehicle speed for cars, vans, articulated HGVs, rigid HGVs, short buses, long buses and motorcycles on 20 mph roads.

Figure 12 shows that:

• under free flow conditions, 84% of cars exceeded the speed limit at 20 mph road sites where data are available, and 16% exceeded the speed limit by over 10 mph

Motor vehicle offences relating to exceeding the speed limit

This section reports on previously published data directly relating to speeding offences.

Definitions

Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN)

Offered to motorists to avoid prosecution for various motoring offences (for example, speeding, neglect of traffic directions and using a mobile phone while driving) by paying a prescribed financial penalty.

Speed awareness courses

National Driver Offender Retraining Scheme (NDORS) is a set of schemes where a motorist who has been caught committing a traffic offence at a ‘low level’, such as speeding, is given an opportunity to attend a course focusing on re-education, which is designed to achieve greater compliance with the Road Traffic legislation.

Figure 13: Indices of motor vehicle offences relating to exceeding the speed limit, 2011 to 2023 (Table SPE0201) Sources: Home Office (HO), Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and National Driver Retraining Scheme (NDORS)

Description of figure 13: Figure 13 presents a line chart showing the number of fixed penalty notices issued for speeding in England and Wales up to 2022, the number of people who are found guilty of speed limit offences in England and Wales up to 2023 and the number of people who attended speed awareness courses up to 2023.

Figure 13 shows that:

• in 2022, 2.52 million drivers were issued with a fixed penalty notice for speeding offences, this is an 6% increase when compared to the previous year, and an increase of 69% since 2011
• in 2023, 203,801 people were found guilty of a speed limit offence, this is a decrease of 8% when compared to the previous year, but an increase of 85% since 2011
• in 2023, 1.78 million drivers attended a speed awareness course in the UK, this is an 9% increase when compared to the previous year, and an increase of 131% since 2011

Reasons given for breaking the speed limit The RAC Report on Motoring 2023 asked users to select up to 3 reasons why they exceed the speed limit for each road class.

Figure 14: Reasons for breaking the speed limit on 20 mph roads, 30 mph roads and motorways (Source: RAC report on motoring, 2023)

Description of figure 14: Figure 14 is a bar chart showing the reasons that respondents selected for why they exceeded the speed limit as a percentage on 20 mph roads, 30 mph roads and motorways.

Figure 14 shows that:

• the top reason from respondents who admitted to exceeding the speed limit on motorways was “I drive according to the speed of other road users”, which was cited by 39% of motorway road users who admitted to breaking the speed limit

• on 20 mph roads, the top reason given for exceeding the speed limit was “speed limit is inappropriate for the road”, which was cited by 50% of 20 mph road users who admitted to breaking the speed limit

This data comes from the RAC’s Report on Motoring 2023. The report is published annually and is based on drivers’ attitudes to motoring, including a section on speeding and attitudes to speeding. It is based on an online quota-based survey of UK motorists. Drivers who admitted to exceeding the speed limit on particular types of roads were asked their reasons for doing so, which are shown here. These are not accredited official statistics but are included to provide additional context.

For motorways, there is a category in the reasons given called “It’s sometimes safe to go faster than the applicable speed limit”. For 30 mph roads, this category is not present but there is another category called “very few other vehicles or pedestrians on the road”. These 2 have been taken together in this analysis, as it is deemed that they are covering broadly the same safety issue but fitted for the differing nature of the different road types.

The results are taken from respondents who self-reported as speeding “frequently” or “occasionally” on the listed roads.

The sample size was higher for motorways (1,223) than for 30 mph roads (796) or 20 mph roads (928), with each respondent able to choose up to 3 answers. As respondents were able to select more than 1 answer, the total percentage exceeds 100% for each road type; this does not indicate more individuals exceeding the speed limit, but a wider variety of reasons given for exceeding the speed limit.

Vehicle headway

This section provides information about the time gaps between pairs of vehicles. This time gap is referred to as headway. Statistics in this section are based on vehicles travelling in the left lane on motorways in England and Wales.

Definitions

Headway

Headway is the measurement of time between pairs of vehicles, data for this section is gathered from the left lane on motorways in England and Wales only. The Highway Code (rule 126) states that all drivers “should allow at least a 2 second gap between you and the vehicle in front on roads carrying faster moving traffic”, and “this should be at least doubled” in inclement conditions.

More information can be found on the Highway Code webpage.

Figure 15: Distribution of time gaps between vehicles, split by type of vehicle behind, 2023 (Table SPE0114)

Description of figure 15: Figure 15 is a bar chart showing the distribution of time gaps between pairs of vehicles, split by the type of the following vehicle.

Figure 15 shows that:

• in 2023, 79% of cars, 78% of vans, and 70% of motorcycles left the recommended 2 second gap between themselves and other vehicles
• 89% of HGVAs, 83% of HGVRs and 87% of buses and coaches left the recommended 2 second gap between themselves and other vehicles

Background information

What’s changed in this release

Since the last release of this series, we have conducted another review of our list of ATC sites to ensure they continue to reflect free flow conditions. Sites that have been removed have changed road class, road layout, or have in-road traffic calming measures such as chicanes or speed bumps. Motorways undergoing smart motorway works or which have become smart motorways are excluded from the sample.

Data on speed as a contributory factor in road accidents previously summarised in tables SPE0202 and SPE0203 can now be found in table RAS0702 at road safety statistics, and will be updated there on the same timescales as the reported road casualties annual report. Further information can be found at road safety statistics.

Vehicle definitions

Table 2: Definition of vehicles

Vehicle type	Definition
Car	Includes cars, car derived vans and dual purpose vehicles.
LCV (van)	Light Commercial Vehicle, goods vehicle of 3.5 tonnes gross weight and under.
HGV	Heavy Goods Vehicle, goods vehicle of over 3.5 tonnes gross weight. For the purpose of these statistics, rigid 2-axle HGVs cannot be assigned definitively to a national speed limit, since it is not known whether or not they are over 7.5 tonnes gross weight. Therefore, no speed limit compliance statistics can be produced for these vehicles for motorways. All other observed HGVs are assumed to have more than 7.5 tonnes maximum laden weight and therefore have been assigned the speed limit for such vehicles.
Motorcycle	2-wheeled motor vehicle, here simplified to motorcycles, including scooters and mopeds.
Short Bus	Includes buses and coaches of 12 metres length or below.
Long Bus	Includes buses and coaches over 12 metres in length. Long buses have different speed restrictions on motorways to short buses.

Speed limits on different road types

All vehicles have the same speed limit on 20 mph and 30 mph roads.

For motorways and NSL single carriageways, for the purposes of these statistics, speed limits have been assigned to the vehicle categories used in the analysis as shown in the following table. For further information on the complete breakdown of national speed limits see the speed limits webpage.

Table 2: Speed limits used for motorways and national speed limit single carriageways, by vehicle type

Vehicle type	Motorway speed limit (mph)	National speed limit single carriageway (mph)	Notes
Car	70	60	No notes
LCV (van)	70	50	No notes
Motorcycle	70	60	No notes
Short bus (under 12m)	70	50	No notes
Long bus (over 12m)	60	50	No notes
Rigid 2-axle HGV (under 7.5t)	70	50	No notes
Rigid 2-axle HGV (over 7.5t)	60	50	Note 1
Rigid 3-axle and more HGV	60	50	Note 1
Articulated HGV	60	50	Note 1

Note 1:

England and Wales only. Speed limits for HGVs over 7.5 tonnes on NSL single carriageway roads were increased in 2015 in England and Wales, but not in Scotland. Therefore, for these road and vehicle type combinations, from 2015 onwards, statistics are calculated for sites in England and Wales only. Prior to this, statistics reflect the former speed limits, and sites from all Great Britain. More detailed studies of the impact of the speed limit changes were produced and published in the final report on the increased speed limit for heavy goods vehicles in July 2020.

Information about data sources used in this publication

The vehicle speed compliance estimates in this report are based on traffic speed data collected from a current sample of 78 ATCs operated by DfT. In many cases on motorways, 2 ATCs in the sample may be covering different directions of traffic flow at the same location. The number of individual vehicles observed in the production of these statistics was 572 million.

The ATC technology used to collect this data can experience technical failures and produce output data which is incorrect and not representative of the traffic passing the counter. The methodology accounts for these occasions and removes any data which is not accurately recorded, as well as during times when traffic volumes are unexpectedly low or high.

The ATCs classify vehicles using the number of axles, the axle spacing and the length of the vehicle.

Full guidance on the sources and methods used to compile these statistics, and background quality report, can be found on the vehicle speed statistics guidance page.

Detailed information on the Home Office data used in this release can be found in the User guide to police powers and procedures.

Detailed information on the Ministry of Justice data used in this release can be found at quarterly criminal justice statistics releases.

Average speed statistics for both local authority managed ‘A’ roads and the Strategic Road Network are available online as part of a suite of travel time measures from the road congestion and reliability statistics series. Note that this series also uses the term “free flow speed” but this is calculated in a different way (for example ‘capped’ at national speed limits) and using a different data source to the statistics presented in this release.

Next update

The 2024 vehicle speed compliance statistics release is due to be published in 2025. We are continuing to review methodologies and the coverage of these statistics and further changes may be reflected in the next publication. We welcome feedback on this publication including content, timing, and format via email to roadtraff.stats@dft.gov.uk.

About these statistics

Free flow vehicle speed compliance statistics were independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation in February 2013. They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics and should be labelled ’accredited official statistics’.

Details of ministers and officials who receive pre-release access to these statistics up to 24 hours before release can be found on the pre-release access page.

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Contact details

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