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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Kelly-Ann Mills

UK road where 4,000 Brits break 40mph speed limit every day as rule changes comes in

A road in the UK sees more than 8,000 drivers using it each day with over half of them breaking the speed limit.

A staggering 4,320 drivers each day on the A164 Willerby bypass near Hull failed to stick to the 40mph speed limit.

And the nearby Cowick Road in Snaith, in the East Riding of Yorkshire had 79.3 per cent of drivers failing to adhere to the 30mph limit and 3,157 drivers speeding each day.

The average speed by motorists is 40.5mph which is 10mph above the legal limit.

It comes as rules around breaking the speed limit were changed in a so-called ‘stealth’ move that has seen thousands of drivers face fines.

The Met Police slashed its speed tolerance by 1mph, triggering a reported 259 per cent increase in the number of drivers who will be punished for breaking the speed limit.

Drivers have been caught speeding (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Driving at any speed over the limit is illegal but police guidelines previously stipulated that drivers should be given some leeway.

Guidelines used the formula that motorists wouldn’t face action unless they broke the speed limit by ten per cent plus 3mph.

But the Met quietly dropped to 10 per cent plus 2mph.

Drivers were caught hundreds of times (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Under the ten per cent plus 3mph rule you could drive 25mph in a 20mph zone before facing punishment.

Under the Met Police's change, a motorist in a 20mph limit can now expect to get away with driving at 24mph before they receive a fixed penalty or are sent on a speed awareness course.

Around 347,000 drivers have been warned they will be prosecuted for speeding in the first six months of 2022.

A Met Police spokesman said: “Posted speed limits are the maximum speed that road users should travel at any time ... irrespective of the speed threshold that police commence enforcement action.”

However the change only applies to the Met Police and other forces such as Lancashire Police, still use the ‘plus 3mph’ formula.

However, despite this enforcement across the country could become stricter with the National Police Chiefs Council saying they intended to review its guidance.

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