Driver in Bedfordshire caught speeding at more than 100 miles per hour on a 30 miles per hour road
At least one driver in Bedfordshire has been caught speeding at more than 100 miles per hour on a 30 miles per hour road, new figures show.
A Freedom of Information request by the RAC found nearly half of the 40 forces across the UK to provide data recorded at least one vehicle travelling at speeds of over 90mph on a 30mph road.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council warned exceeding speed limits by this much is "reckless, selfish and completely unacceptable".
The figures obtained show the highest speed recorded by Bedfordshire Police was 103mph on a 30mph road between January 2023 and August 2024.
Police in the area also clocked a maximum speed of 161mph on a 70mph stretch over that period.
Across the UK, nearly half (48 per cent) of police forces detected motorists driving at over 90mph on 30mph roads – more than three times the speed limit.
And almost all forces (90 per cent) caught drivers speeding at 60mph on these roads.
Chief Constable Jo Shiner, the NPCC lead for roads policing, said while some speeding incidents are genuine mistakes, these drivers are "taking deliberate decisions to travel at excessive speeds, putting everyone at risk".
She explained speed limits are based on various factors, including the road layout and whether there might be vulnerable road users, and said it is "reckless, selfish and completely unacceptable" to exceed them.
"We all have a responsibility to keep each other safe and do whatever we can to reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured on our roads each day," she added.
Separate figures from the Department for Transport show 331 people died in crashes on Britain’s roads in which a driver exceeding the speed limit was a contributory factor in 2023.
This was at least a 10-year high and represented 21 per cent of all road fatalities.
A DfT spokesman said: "There’s no excuse for those who risk the lives of others through speeding, and there are already tough penalties in place for drivers who speed.
"While our roads are among the safest in the world, we are committed to improving road safety, and recently relaunched our Think! Campaign with a focus on speeding, particularly on rural roads."