The M6 Toll road has been flagged as Britain’s speeding hotspot.

Quartix’s ‘SafeSpeed’ database outlines the main areas for speeding issues.

While official speeding prosecutions are down, those being sent on speed awareness is rising.

Mapping speed

New analysis of vehicle data has identified the UK’s top roads for frequent speeding incidents.

According to Quartix’s ‘SafeSpeed’ database, the M6 Toll near Birmingham sees the highest rates of speeding, followed closely by the M61.

The database tracks the relative speeds of thousands of drivers daily, providing data to calculate individual driver scores within Quartix’s fleet tracking system, utilized by over 35,000 businesses worldwide.

These driver scores assess the vehicle’s speed in relation to the posted speed limit and compare it to the average speed of other vehicles on the same road.

Doing the maths

The Relative Speed Score considers the context of the road, making it particularly useful for assessing safe speeds on rural roads, where driving at the posted limit may not always be safe.

Once aggregated and anonymized, the 663 million data points in Quartix’s database reveal broader speeding trends across the UK’s roads, helping to identify potential high-risk areas for drivers.

In a sample of more than 7,000 data points from the M6 between junctions T6 and T5, nearly half (46%) of vehicles exceeded the 70mph speed limit.

On the M61 near junction 6, out of over 16,000 data points, 40% of vehicles were travelling above the speed limit.

Live and learn

Mark Cartwright, Head of Commercial Vehicle Incident Prevention at National Highways, described the data as “incredibly valuable”.

Cartwright adds that it “is particularly useful as we know that speed is a major factor in collisions and can greatly increase their severity.”

This also provides valuable information for businesses to understand their drivers’ high-risk behaviours behind the wheel.

It allows fleet managers to act more effectively to remedy dangerous actions and drivers in their fleets.

The data can inform efforts to reduce speeding and improve road safety.

Ongoing problem

Recent statistics from the Department for Transport (DfT), published in the summer, indicate a mixed trend in speeding enforcement.

While the number of drivers convicted of speeding offences decreased last year to 203,801—a drop of 8% compared to the previous year—there was a rise in drivers attending speed awareness courses.

Approximately 1.78 million drivers participated in these courses, marking a 9% increase from the previous year and a 131% rise since 2011.