More than 1,500 UK drivers caught exceeding 112mph in last 12 months

Since 2020, as part of its Vision Zero road safety strategy, Volvo has fitted all its cars with a 112mph electronic speed limiter. Such technology would have prevented more than 1,500 drivers breaching 112mph on UK roads over the last 12 months alone.

• New study by Volvo Car UK reveals more than four drivers a day were caught speeding in excess of 112mph over the last 12 months
• All Volvo vehicles sold in the UK since 2020 have been fitted with an electronic speed limit of 112mph as part of its Vision Zero road safety strategy
• Over three million breaches of the speed limit were recorded in the last 12 months (3,082,339)
• Research used data obtained via Freedom of Information (FOI) requests submitted to police forces across the UK

More than 1,500 drivers were caught breaching 112mph on UK roads over the past 12 months according to new research by Volvo Car UK – that equates to approximately one every six hours.

The new study used data* obtained via 45 Freedom of Information (FOI) requests submitted to police forces across the UK and analysed findings from 32 responses. Data covers the 12-month period from September 2024 to August 2025 and includes all incidents where a breach of the speed limit was detected using in-car, fixed speed cameras, mobile speed camera vans and average speed cameras.

Since 2020 Volvo has fitted all its cars with an electronic speed limiter, which prevents modern models from travelling above 112mph (180km/h) as part of its Vision Zero road safety strategy –with the aim no one should be seriously injured or killed in a new Volvo car.

Such technology would have prevented the highest speed recorded across the 30 police force areas which replied to Volvo’s FOI request of 160mph, in Cheshire – nearly 2.3 times the national speed limit. A driver was also caught speeding at 159mph in Northamptonshire.

Nicole Melillo Shaw, Managing Director of Volvo Car UK, said: “At Volvo Cars, safety in and around your car is our number one priority. With a record number of licensed vehicles on the road in the UK - more than 42 million in 2025 - road safety has never been more important. The fact a UK driver is caught travelling in excess of 112mph every six hours, highlights the importance and relevance of our speed limiter technology. It is a feature we build in by design, and the findings of our research suggest it is the right approach to take."

Northamptonshire saw the highest number of drivers (291) who exceeded 112mph during the past 12 months – perhaps because both the M1 and M45 motorways pass through the county – followed by Staffordshire (196) and Merseyside (117). On the other hand, Dyfed-Powys and Cleveland police data showed zero drivers topping 112mph.

Top-10 areas for drivers exceeding 112mph (Sep 2024-Aug 2025)

Volvo’s speed limiter is a reminder of its commitment to safety. Its aim is to eliminate serious injuries and fatalities in its cars as part of the company’s Vision Zero ambition. The 112mph speed cap became standard on all new Volvo cars from the 2020 model year onwards. Over the same 12-month period, the total number of speeding offences – at all speeds – was at least 3,082,339, with the real number likely to be even higher, due to several police forces not suppling data.

For more information about Volvo, visit https://www.volvocars.com/uk/

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Notes for editors

* The data was obtained through FOI requests to all UK police forces. Some forces did not respond to the request or cited excessive cost/time required to locate the data as a reason not to supply the information. While most forces provided the requested data, some police forces only provided the number of cars which were recorded exceeding 112mph. The period the data request covered was September 2024 to August 2025. However, there was some variance, a small number of forces provided data for the period August 2024 to July 2025.