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  "path": "/lifestyle/cars/motoring-news-20mph-zones-blamed-number-of-drivers-points-licence-surging-almost-million",
  "publishedAt": "2026-04-08T20:10:29.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "Labour under pressure to close major driving licence loophole",
    "Motorhome and campervan drivers to be banned from popular tourist hotspot to improve road safety",
    "E-scooter giant threatens UK exit due to Labour’s 'totally restrictive' rules",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\nThe proliferation of 20mph speed restrictions throughout Britain has been identified as the primary driver behind a dramatic spike in motorists accumulating penalty points, with figures approaching one million.\n\nData obtained through a freedom of information request by IAM RoadSmart revealed that 939,519 drivers across England, Wales and Scotland received SP30 endorsements last year for exceeding speed limits on non-motorway roads.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThis represents a 32 per cent jump compared with 2022, when 678,367 motorists were penalised for the same offence.\n\nCritics argue the expanding network of lower-speed zones has created confusion, ensnaring otherwise compliant drivers rather than targeting dangerous behaviour.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nEdmund King, president of the AA, attributed part of the increase to expanded camera coverage, stating: \"The increase in 20mph zones probably adds to those being caught on camera\".\n\nBritain's road network now features 20mph limits on more than a sixth of its total mileage, with 39,000 miles of the 246,500-mile system subject to the restriction, according to transport consultancy Insight Warehouse.\n\nThe Welsh Labour government implemented a sweeping change in 2023, reducing the default limit on most residential and built-up streets from 30mph to 20mph.\n\nLondon has embraced the policy even more extensively, with Transport for London confirming that over half the capital's roads now operate under the lower threshold.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nLeeds is preparing to convert dozens of additional streets, while numerous other local authorities have either adopted similar measures or announced plans to do so.\n\nAttendance at speed-awareness courses surged to an unprecedented 1.8 million last year, as drivers opted for the educational programme rather than accepting penalty points and a £100 fine.\n\nMeanwhile, motorway speeding offences fell by six per cent in 2025, with 216,141 drivers caught, suggesting enforcement is increasingly concentrated on lower-speed urban roads.\n\n### LATEST DEVELOPMENTS\n\n\n\n\n  * Labour under pressure to close major driving licence loophole\n  * Motorhome and campervan drivers to be banned from popular tourist hotspot to improve road safety\n  * E-scooter giant threatens UK exit due to Labour’s 'totally restrictive' rules\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nDepartment for Transport figures indicate that three-quarters of motorists exceed limits on free-flowing 20mph stretches lacking cameras, bends, junctions or traffic-calming measures.\n\nThe typical speed recorded was 24mph, sufficient to activate enforcement cameras.\n\nHoward Cox of the FairFuelUK campaign offered a sharp critique, saying: \"The war on UK motorists' wallets grows exponentially.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\"Recent anti-speeding policies introduced behind alleged safety reasoning is just a dishonest mask to fleece more cash out of the world's highest-taxed drivers\".\n\nNicholas Lyes of IAM RoadSmart emphasised the safety dimension: \"Speeding is one of the leading factors in the most serious collisions.\n\n\"We need a shift in mindset - speeding carries serious consequences, but the fact that it is so widespread indicates a cultural problem that needs addressing\".\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n**Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter**",
  "title": "Rollout of 20mph zones blamed as number of drivers with points on their licence surging to almost a million"
}