Police data has revealed that more than 24,000 drivers were clocked doing more than 100mph over a five-year period.

The highest speeds caught on camera included one driver travelling at 164mph on the M25 in Swanley in 2022, with Kent Police unable to trace the driver of the Seat Leon.

However, a Porsche driver was banned for six months for driving at 163mph on the M1 in north London in 2020, and a driver travelling at the same speed in Humberside was disqualified from driving for four months and fined £950.

South Yorkshire Police said a driver caught driving at 162mph in 2019 was issued with six penalty points on their licence and received fines of £1,210.

Greater Manchester Police also clocked a driver using a cloned number plate travelling at 164mph on the M62 in 2023.

Ben Pepper, senior associate in the personal injury claims team at Bolt Burdon Kemp, said: “Through our work representing clients who have been victims of serious road traffic collisions, we see firsthand the devastating consequences of speeding. 

“It is crucial that the Government, local authorities, and the police take more decisive action to combat the record levels of speeding on our roads and work toward ensuring safer driving for everyone.”

The BBC sent freedom of information (FOI) requests to police forces asking what the highest recorded speeds were over a five-year period (2019-2023).

Of the 45 police forces contacted, 27 were able to provide data.

The BBC investigation comes after separate research from the RAC found more than half (58%) of drivers admit to going above 70mph ‘frequently’ or ‘occasionally’ on the motorway, up from 57% in 2023. 

The proportion of drivers who admitted to speeding on 60mph roads also rose to 47% from 45%, and on 30mph roads to 42% from 40% in 2024. 

Department for Transport (DfT) statistics show that ‘exceeding the speed limit’ was a contributory factor in 304 (21%) fatal collisions.

Meanwhile, separate figures from the Home Office published in December, revealed there were almost 2.7 million motoring offences, excluding data from the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), recorded in 2023, an increase of 11% compared with the previous year (2.4 million), and the highest recorded since comparable records began in 2011. 

More than four-fifths (86%) of recorded motoring offences were for speeding (2.3 million), up 10% on the previous year (2.1 million) and the highest recorded since 2011.

Between 2011 and 2023, the number of speed limit offences increased at a faster rate than the amount of road traffic in Great Britain.