Here’s where you are most likely to get a speeding ticket – and where it’s most likely to be cancelled:
Government data has revealed where drivers are most likely to be given a speeding ticket, as well as where they are most likely to have them cancelled.
Analysis of fixed penalty notices (FPNs) issued in 2018 show that drivers in Avon and Somerset were handed almost 200,000 tickets – the equivalent of 548 a day.
The south-western police force issued the largest number of FPNs of any force in England and Wales, with a total of 199,337. While the force only has 3,000 officers it does have more than 800 active speed cameras.
The data analysis by finance provider Moneybarn showed that West Yorkshire and London Metropolitan follow in second and third place, with 174,796 and 135,430 FPNs issued for speeding respectively.
Drivers issued an FPN have to pay a £100 fine and have three penalty pointsadded to their licence but more serious offenders can be taken to court to face harsher penalties.
Lowest penalty rates
Welsh police force areas dominate the bottom 10 for the lowest number of speeding fines issued, with Gwent, Dyfed-Powys and North Wales all featuring. Only 242 drivers were given FPNs in County Gwent in 2018, possibly because it has only 17 fixed speed cameras, of which only eight are active.
The data comes after a number of forces revealed how far above the speed limit drivers must be going before being issued a ticket.
Most and least speeding tickets by police force area
# Area Highest number of FPNs # Area Lowest number of FPNs 1 Avon and Somerset 199,337 1 Gwent 242 2 West Yorkshire 174,796 2 Dyfed-Powys 793 3 London Metropolitan 135,430 3 Wiltshire 1,191 4 Thames Valley 131,401 4 City of London 3,888 5 Greater Manchester 101,421 5 Durham 8,802 6 Essex 95,967 6 Derbyshire 10,480 7 Norfolk 92,750 7 Cleveland 11,308 8 Hampshire 79,126 8 Kent 18,878 9 Bedfordshire 74,297 9 North Wales 20,462 10 Surrey 74,163 10 Gloucestershire 21,727
Most cancelled tickets
The City of London was among the forces to issue the fewest FPNs but is also the force most like to cancel a ticket on a driver’s appeal.
Of the 3,888 speeding tickets issued last year, it cancelled 63 per cent – more than twice as many as any other force.
Second most likely to cancel a speeding fine was Cambridgeshire Constabulary, which overturned almost 31 per cent of FPNs, while third-placed Greater Manchester cancelled 27 per cent of tickets.
Highest and lowest cancellation rates
# Area % of fines cancelled # Area % of fines cancelled 1 City of London 62.62% 1 North Wales 1.29% 2 Cambridgeshire 30.57% 2 Devon and Cornwall 1.58% 3 Greater Manchester 26.68% 3 Dyfed-Powys 1.76% 4 London Metropolitan 24.21% 4 Wiltshire 2.09% 5 Bedfordshire 23.22% 5 Nottinghamshire 2.09%
Welsh forces were the least likely to cancel a ticket, with North Wales overturning just 1.29 per cent of the 20,462 it issued. Devon and Cornwall (1.58 per cent) and Dyfed-Powys (1.76 per cent) were also among the least likely to reverse a fine.
Speed limiters
Tim Schwarz, head of marketing at Moneybarn, commented: “The latest government data reveals interesting results for speeding offences across England and Wales, with a difference of nearly 200,000 FPNs between the highest and lowest regions.
“While the government introduced new speeding fines in 2017, it’s encouraging to see continued efforts to tackle speeding offences across the UK.
“The next step is to make speed limiting technology compulsory in all vehicles sold from 2022. If successful, this could potentially eradicate the need for FPNs altogether in the future.”