New research has revealed which areas in England have the fastest drivers. 

The study by car leasing comparison site Leasing.com analysed data from the Department for Transport. It has collected the average speed of all drivers last year for every ‘A’ Road and Motorway in England to see which local authorities had the fastest drivers.

Northern lights

The results show that Telford and Wrekin, located in the county of Shropshire, was the area with the fastest drivers. Of the roads studied in the local authority, the average speed of all drivers across 2021 was 67.91 miles per hour, giving it the top spot of any area. The M54 was the main road recorded in the study, with the average speed across all parts in Telford ranging from 66 to 70 miles per hour. 

Blackburn with Darwen takes second place, with an average speed of 66.06 for drivers in the Lancashire authority. The M65 was the main road in the authority, with average speeds across it, giving the area the title of having the second-fastest drivers and the area with the fastest drivers in the North West as well. 

Slow down south

The Merseyside authority of Knowsley makes its way into the top three, with an average speed of 66.02 of all roads in the area, giving it a close third place. The M57 is the main road that runs through the area. 

Wirral comes in fourth place as another Merseyside authority in the list. The main road in the authority is the M53, with several sections, even having an average speed that exceeds the national speed limit, with junction four northbound and southbound having an average speed of 70.7 mph and 70.5 mph, respectively.

With an average speed of 64.56 miles per hour across all roads in the authority, Medway, located in the county of Kent, comes in fifth place. Medway is one of three South-East authorities on the list, along with West Berkshire and Brighton.

 

#  Local Authority  County  Average speed (mph) 
1  Telford and Wrekin  Shropshire  67.91 
2  Blackburn with Darwen  Lancashire  66.06 
3  Knowsley  Merseyside  66.02 
4  Wirral  Merseyside  65.16 
5  Medway  Kent  64.56 
6  West Berkshire  Berkshire  64.30 
7  Durham  County Durham  63.46 
8  Bolton  Lancashire  63.22 
9  Brighton and Hove  East Sussex  63.15 
10  Halton  Cheshire  62.98 

 

The A3(M), located in Hampshire, was the road with the fastest drivers, with an average speed of 67.33 miles per hour. The stretch of road with the fastest drivers in 2021 was the A30 westbound section within the A3058 junction, located in Cornwall, which recorded average speeds of 78.8 miles per hour across the year. 

The roads with the fastest drivers 

Rank  Road  Average speed (mph) 
1  A3(M)  67.33 
2  M54  67.13 
3  M6 Toll  66.96 
4  M40  66.80 
5  M50  66.66 
6  M69  66.19 
7  M23  65.93 
8  M65  65.71 
9  M53  65.64 
10  M3  65.58 

 

Town and country

Commenting on the findings, Dave Timmis from Leasing.com said: “The contrast of more rural areas and built-up urban areas in this top ten highlights how varied England’s fastest drivers can be. With the recent introduction of Smart Motorways across some of the UK’s busiest motorways, to mixed opinions, these areas listed may see a change in trends as the system becomes more common across the UK.”