Warwickshire named biggest speeding hotspot in England and Wales – study

Warwickshire has been named the ‘speeding hotspot’ of England and Wales, with a new study finding one in five drivers exceed speed limits in the county.

Warwickshire Police saw 91,325 speeding violations in 2022 – equivalent to one for every 4.58 vehicles in the area.

Go Compare Car Insurance’s findings – which used combined regional figures from the Home Office and the DVLA – located other speeding ‘hotspots’ including Greater London, Devon and Cornwall with the Met Police reporting one penalty for every 4.82 vehicles. Devon and Cornwall, meanwhile, saw one offence being issued for every 4.64 cars in the area.

Bedfordshire and Surrey both entered into the top ten – with speeding violations issued for every 8.18 and 9.14 respective vehicles – while Yorkshire was identified as another speedy area. Both North and West Yorkshire were in the top 10 list with penalties for every 6.26 and 6.49 vehicles respectively.

Tom Banks, a car insurance expert at Go.Compare, said: “Speeding is perhaps one of the most common safety risks associated with using our roads, so identifying the country’s hotspots is a key indicator of where the most dangerous places to drive are. It seems that the South is home to some of the nation’s worst areas, although the figures for Yorkshire are also particularly concerning.”

At the other end of the scale sat South Wales, where one offence was recorded for every 43 vehicles. North Wales also had a very low ratio, with one offence issued for every 21 vehicles.

Northumbria Police reported one offence for every 21.87 vehicles in the area it covers – Northumberland and Tyne and Wear – while Cleveland Police, which looks after Middlesborough, Hartlepool and Stockton, had a ratio of one offence for every 30 vehicles.