NORTH Wales is one of the top-five regions in the UK when it comes to speeding offences.

The International Drivers Association has conducted a study which has analysed the latest police force data from 2010 to 2020 on speeding offences for each region in England and Wales to establish where the speediest drivers commit their offences.

In the study, North Wales comes in fourth place, with 4.34 speeding offences per 1,000 residents.

This comes as a result of 3,054 average speeding offences in the area per year across a population of 703,400.

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Lincolnshire has the highest number of speeding offences in England and Wales each year, with 5.43 offences per 1,000 residents.

South Wales and North Yorkshire rank second and third respectively. Completing the top-five is Dyfed-Powys.

Durham has the fewest annual speeding offences per 1,000 residents at just 0.95.

An average of 159,662 speeding offences are made each year across England and Wales.

For further information on the study, visit internationaldriversassociation.com 

A spokesperson from International Drivers Association said: “This study offers a fascinating insight into the locations where drivers are more likely to put their foot down on the pedal and where more accidents may occur as a result.

"It will be interesting to see if these rankings change in the coming years as more schemes are implemented across the country to lower speeding limits in an effort to crack down on speeding violations.”

Responding to the study, Inspector Gareth Pearson from North Wales Police’s roads policing unit said: “Officers along with our partners in Go Safe jointly detect motorists who choose to ignore the speed limits.

"Drivers who are caught speeding by roads policing unit officers are issued with a Traffic Offence Report (TOR) which could then lead to either attending a speed awareness course or a court appearance.

“Speeding is an issue that concerns many residents and one that we take extremely seriously. Those who choose to ignore the speed limits can expect to be prosecuted for their actions.

“We are committed to making our roads a safer place for all who use them and we will continue to crack down on those irresponsible drivers who choose to ignore speed limits and drive irresponsibly, not only risking their own lives but the lives of others.”

North Wales Police has a robust strategy around enforcing the ‘Fatal 5’ offences which are speeding, drink and drug driving, dangerous driving including unnecessary risk taking, failing to wear a seat belt and using a mobile phone whilst driving.

A GoSafe Wales spokesperson said: "Speeding is one of the largest contributing factors to collisions on our roads.

"Speed limits are in place for the safety of all road users and are not targets to reach or exceed.

"GoSafe enforce in the right place, at the right time, for the right reason; to encourage the minority of motorists who exceed the speed limits to change their behaviour and reduce their speeds.

"All our sites are selected based on collision data, risk of injury and or community concerns and we enforce across all speed limits.

"GoSafe do not operate on a target-based approach.

"Our most successful sites are those which record the LEAST number of offences, not the most.

"Our strategic aim is to make Welsh roads safer and to reduce casualties on our roads.

"As offences reduce at our sites, we know that our presence is making a difference and encouraging motorists to comply with the speed limits."