Speed Limits in the UK

The following information was extracted from a government website where you should go to get the full story as a downloadable pdf file:

In 2003 there were still over 3,000 people being killed (that's nearly 10 people every day) and 33,000 being seriously injured in collisions on Britain's roads.

Driving at inappropriate speed is also a real problem on rural roads. Despite only around 10% of drivers exceeding the speed limit on rural roads, over 60% of all car occupant deaths (drivers and passengers) occur on them. This is because, although the national speed limit applies on the vast majority of rural roads, it is actually difficult to drive at anywhere close to the speed limit, but it is still very possible to drive too fast for the conditions. These include approaching a bend or junction too fast, not negotiating narrow roads properly and overtaking where it is inappropriate to do so.

Inappropriate speed is also a factor where poor weather conditions prevail and when driving at night.

It is a commonly held belief that, since roads have far less traffic at night, it is safe to drive at higher speeds. However, it is a fact that the average risk of an accident per kilometre travelled between 7.00pm and 7.00am is double that for that between 7.00am and 7.00pm.

*60 if articulated or towing a trailer

There is sometimes some confusion as to what a dual carriageway is, especially for those vehicles restricted to speed limits below that for cars, such as HGVs and Coaches. In short, a dual carriageway is a road that is separated by a central reservation. A central reservation is anything other than a pedestrian refuge that separates vehicles going in one direction from vehicles going in the other direction. It should be noted that although it is more usual to have two or more lanes in each direction, the number of lanes is not specified, i.e. it is the presence of a central reservation rather than the number of lanes that determines whether or not a road is a dual carriageway.

The 20mph speed limit is predominately used in urban areas. Commonly you will see them in town centres, high streets, residential roads and in the vicinity of schools. The aim of this limit is to reduce vehicle speeds that allows for the presence of vulnerable road users; cyclists, children and the elderly. More often than not a 20mph speed limit will come in the form of a 'zone'. A zone will contain traffic calming features, usually road humps that force drivers to reduce their speed to around 20mph. Research on the effectiveness of these zones has shown that casualties can fall by up to 70% where they have been introduced.

The 30mph speed limit is predominately used in urban areas (and more recently in many villages) and usually is indicated by the presence of a system of streetlights. The presence of street lights is the way we recognise this speed limit and it is the reason why you do not see, apart from where the limit starts, 30mph speed limit signs. Some believe this to be an odd way of indicating a speed limit, but really it is simple. If there are streetlights and no signs to the contrary a 30mph speed limit is in force.

There are a number of unlit roads where a 30 mph speed limit applies. In these circumstances the traffic authority must place 30 mph repeater signs.

These two speed limits were introduced in the 1970s and are predominately used in non-built up areas or in built up areas where a higher speed is both safe and appropriate. In addition to signing the beginning of the speed limit, traffic authorities must also place speed limit repeater signs at regular intervals along the length of road being enforced. The driver should therefore be in no doubt of what the speed limit is for the road being driven on.

The national speed limit is indicated by a round sign showing a white background with a diagonal black stripe across it. For the majority of vehicles it means 60mph on single carriageway roads and 70mph on dual carriageway roads (as detailed above, some vehicles are restricted to lower speed limits). This speed limit works on the same principle as the 30mph speed limit in that it is not signed apart from where the speed limit starts. It is predominately used along the rural road network. Again, recognising it is simple. Where there are no streetlights and no signs to the contrary, the national speed limit is in force. The speed limit on a motorway is 70mph unless otherwise indicated.

The purpose of cameras is to deter speeding at sites where speed related accidents have occurred, not to catch drivers speeding. The police are responsible for enforcing the speed limit and may use any Home Office approved equipment. Apart from traditional fixed speed camera housings, the three most common ways to enforce speed limits are:

a) In-car speed measuring systems operated by a police officer, which measure the average speed of a suspected speeding vehicle over a given distance.

b) Handheld speed measuring equipment where a police officer measures the speed of passing vehicles with a 'radar gun'. That officer will work in tandem with a colleague, positioned further along the road concerned, who will be responsible for stopping any offending vehicle and informing the driver of his speed.

c) Portable speed detection devices which are trained across a road by a supervising officer to measure the speed of any vehicle going through the 'line of sight' of the device. A second 'stopping' officer can pull over a speeding vehicle if so requested by the officer monitoring the device. These devices may also have photographic recording ability, allowing the police to send notifications and requirements to the registered vehicle keeper.