Speeding is now less sociably acceptable than it was five years ago.
According to a report from the latest annual Safety Culture Report from IAM Roadsmart (formerly the Institute of Advanced Motorists) survey, only 43 per cent believe it’s acceptable to drive at 80mph (128km/h) on the freeway. This is down from 55 per cent believing it was okay in 2016.
In addition, just 23 per cent of respondents thought it was tolerable to drive faster than that on the freeway, whereas 28 per cent accepted this behaviour five years ago.
The vast majority of drivers believe it is unacceptable to speed in towns – a fact that has reassuringly remained unchanged over the last five years. Worryingly, though, one in five still thinks it’s alright to drive around 10km/h over the speed limit in a residential area, while one in 10 thinks it’s okay to do so in a school zone.
Neil Greig, director of policy and research at IAM Roadsmart, said: “While there are signs of improvement, the results of this survey are still deeply concerning and there is clearly much more work to do on education and training.
“Speeding consistently causes more than 4,400 casualties on UK roads each year, which is an average of 12 people a day killed or injured on UK roads.”
Tristan Shale-Hester