New data has revealed the UK locations where drivers are most likely to encounter a speeding motorist, and the areas with the fewest offenders. Speeding is the most common motoring offence in the UK, with 3.3 million drivers currently holding penalty points for an “SP” offence. In most parts of the country it accounts for around 85% of recorded motoring offences and cases are on the rise, up 8-9% in England, Wales and Scotland and a massive 18% in Northern Ireland last year. However, the number of offenders isn’t even spread around the country and the new research has uncovered the areas with the most law-breakers as well as those with the fewest. By analysing licence data from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency based on postcodes, leasing firm Wessex Fleet identified Birmingham as the UK’s speeding hotspot, with more than 91,000 drivers holding penalty points for breaking the limit. Unsurprisingly, major urban centres dominate the list of postcodes with high numbers of offenders. Sheffield is second on the list with 74,069 drivers with active points on their licence, just ahead of Nottingham, where 71,536 drivers have been penalised for speeding. Speeding normally carries a fine of at least £100 and three penalty points, although punishments can rise to fines of £2,500 and six points, as well as driving bans for the most serious offences. The data also revealed the postcodes with the fewest speeding drivers and while most were quieter, more rural areas, parts of London also featured on the list. Lerwick, on Shetland, has the fewest drivers with a speeding conviction, with just 561 motorists in the ZE postcode holding penalty points. The Outer Hebrides also featured high on the list, with just 731 offenders, sitting between two London postcodes. WC and EC cover central areas of the capital including Westminster, Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Camden, Islington, and parts of the City of London, and have just 603 and 791 offenders respectively. The DVLA figures only include drivers caught and punished for speeding and don’t include offences that go undetected. Earlier this year, government traffic tracking revealed that more than half of drivers broke the speed limit in 30mph zones, and a staggering 90% ignored 20mph limits.
