New data reveals the scale of high-speed driving on UK roads.

More than three million speeding offences have been recorded in the past year.

Of these, more than 1,500 motorists were caught travelling above 112mph.

Foot down

The figures come from a new study by Volvo Car UK, which submitted 45 Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to police forces across the country and analysed the 32 that responded.

This data covers the 12 months from September 2024 to August 2025, including offences detected by fixed and mobile speed cameras, average-speed routes and in-car systems.

These findings underline the extent of dangerous driving at extreme speeds: one driver every six hours was clocked at more than 112mph during the reporting period.

Volvo introduced an electronic 112mph speed limiter to all its new vehicles in 2020 as part of its ‘Vision Zero’ safety strategy.

This is a commitment to no one being seriously injured or killed in a new Volvo car.

Braking habits

According to Volvo, the limiter would have prevented many of the most extreme speeding incidents recorded by UK police.

This includes a speeding high of  160mph in Cheshire.

This is twice the national motorway limit.

In Northamptonshire, a motorist was caught at 159mph, one of several exceptionally high-speed cases that the company says highlight the persistent risks on UK roads.

Nicole Melillo Shaw, Managing Director of Volvo Car UK, said the figures demonstrate why speed-limiting technology is necessary.

“At Volvo Cars, safety in and around your car is our number one priority,” she said.

“With a record number of licensed vehicles on UK roads, more than 42 million in 2025, road safety has never been more important. The fact that a driver is caught travelling above 112mph every six hours highlights the importance and relevance of our speed limiter technology.”

Regional racing

Across the police forces that responded to the Freedom of Information request, speeding patterns varied significantly.

Northamptonshire recorded the highest number of motorists exceeding 112mph, with 291 drivers breaching the threshold over the year.

This figure may reflect the presence of both the M1 and M45 motorways in the area.

Staffordshire followed with 196 cases, while Merseyside recorded 117.

At the other end of the scale, Dyfed-Powys and Cleveland reported zero incidents of drivers exceeding 112mph, despite both forces detecting numerous lower-level speeding offences.

High speed

The study provides a spotlight on the scale of speeding in general in the UK.

According to the information provided to Volvo, there were at least 3,082,339 speeding offences of all types.

However, the actual figure is likely considerably higher, given that several forces did not supply complete data.

Volvo argues that its 112mph cap provides a simple but effective intervention that prevents the top levels of speeding offences.

As part of Vision Zero, the company has also invested in driver-monitoring systems, improved crash-protection technology and advanced active-safety features in its newer models.

Spare change

Despite the evolution of safety features in cars, they cannot change poor and dangerous attitudes behind the wheel. 

Road-safety groups say the new data provides further impetus for broader adoption of in-car speed-control systems, particularly as vehicle numbers continue to rise.

Some experts also point to the growing role of connected-car technology, which could enable real-time speed-limit enforcement or automated speed adjustment in future.

For now, however, the research shows that extreme speeding remains a threat on UK roads, and that technology, alongside enforcement, may hold the key to reducing the most dangerous behaviours.