By RHODRI MORGAN, DATA JOURNALIST
Record numbers of drivers are being caught speeding in hated 20mph zones amid the ongoing 'war on motorists'.
Some have even been banned from getting behind the wheel for trudging just 4mph above the limit.
Statistics obtained exclusively by the Daily Mail show someone is now caught going above 20mph roughly every 90 seconds.
Between January and October this year, police flagged more than 350,000 vehicles breaking the lowest speeding limit. That was 8% above the figure recorded for the entirety of 2024 – itself a previous record.
Campaigners today called for 'common sense' on the roads, criticising how swathes of councils have moved towards a 20mph norm in built-up areas.
Hugh Bladon, founding member of the motorist campaign group, the Alliance of British Drivers, told the Daily Mail: 'The campaigns against motorists in this country have been going on for far too long.
'They'll never be happy until we're driving round with a man walking in front of the car with a red flag.
'The 20mph zones everywhere are a mindset that's been adopted by councils so that they can be seen to be doing something.
'It's time for people to treat motorists with a degree of common sense, because most of them have it.'
Drivers caught breaching the limit face a minimum £100 fine and three penalty points.
Some are given the option to attend a three-hour speed awareness course, which can cost up to £120.
Around 94% of the offences in the Daily Mail's figures – obtained through freedom of information requests – were recorded by the Metropolitan Police.
Over half London's roads have a 20mph speed limit – the equivalent of over 200 miles of tarmac, according to Transport for London.
In Wales, 90% of urban roads across the country are 20mph zones. Signed into law by the country's devolved Labour government in 2023, it was hugely unpopular and described as 'frankly ludicrous'.
Only responses from 13 forces from the Daily Mail's FOI were used, which asked for speeding data going back to 2020.
Just one of Wales' four police forces' responses were used in the analysis.
The findings come after an EastEnders and James Bond star was spared a driving ban, having been caught speeding at 24mph in his 22-year-old silver 1.3-litre Suzuki Wagon, not far from his £1.2million family home.
Colin Salmon broke down in court as he told of how he cared for his seriously ill wife Fiona Hawthorne and their daughter Sasha.
Magistrates ruled the 64-year-old star, who appeared in three 007 movies as MI6 Deputy Chief of Staff Charles Robinson, needed to continue driving them to medical appointments and honour his charitable commitments.
Meanwhile, Top Gear's 'fourth member' Andy Wilman was last month caught driving his £75,000 Porsche 10mph above the 20mph limit – his fifth speeding conviction in three years.
The 63-year-old helped reboot the long-running TV show in 2002 and later launched The Grand Tour with stars Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May.
Wilman was clocked driving his grey Porsche Macan at 30mph in a 20mph zone on the busy A41 Finchley Road in Camden, north London.
BAFTA-nominated Wilman was banned from driving for six months in May after he was clocked driving 4mph above a 20mph limit in his Porsche Macan.
EastEnders and James Bond actor Colin Salmon is pictured outside Lavender Hill Magistrates' Court where he was spared a driving ban after being caught speeding at 24mph in his 22-year-old silver 1.3-litre Suzuki Wagon
Salmon wept in court as he told of caring for his ill wife Fiona Hawthorne and their daughter Sasha - the couple are seen at the Chain Of Hope Gala Ball in London in November 2018
Porsche-driving producer Andy Wilman clocked up yet another speeding offence after being caught on camera travelling at 30mph in a 20mph zone, but after pleading guilty he avoided a larger fine
Wilman (centre) became the unofficial fourth member of Top Gear alongside his former school friend Jeremy Clarkson (right), Richard Hammond (left) and James May (not pictured)
Figures from the Department for Transport show that in 2024, under free-flowing traffic conditions, 76% of cars broke the 20mph speed limit.
For comparison, the figure was 44% on 70mph motorways and 43% within 30mph neighbourhoods.
The average speed on the roads monitored in 20mph zones was 24mph.
It comes after the Daily Mail this month revealed a shocking volume of motorists had been snared travelling at extreme speeds in the last year.
While anyone caught speeding at over 100mph will likely receive an instant ban and a huge fine to boot, there are thousands of motorists who have been identified by police travelling well beyond this extortionate speed in the last 12 months.
Between September 2024 and August 2025, more than three million drivers received speeding endorsements – when drivers who were either pulled over by cops or caught by speed cameras.
Additionally, more than 1,500 of them were commandeered for speeding over 112mph.
A TfL report from May this year found that deaths and serious injuries on borough roads fell by over a third between 1989 and 2013, because of the introduction of more 20mph roads.
Rod King, founder of 20's Plenty for Us, told the Daily Mail that the increased surveillance is saving lives and doing the right thing.
He said: 'Police forces are doing more enforcement generally, that's a function of better technology and the main increases have been in Wales and London owing to more 20mph zones and better technology to process the offences recorded.
'In London, it's probably the same level of speeding, just that more are getting processed and in fact, there have been more increases on offences above 20mph as opposed to 20mph and below.
He added: 'The idea its a war on motorists is not borne out by what is happening, it's just making it better for people.'