Does the UK use km/h or mph?

What is the average speed of a car in the UK?

Ah, the UK's average car speed! It's like asking the average height of a hobbit, delightfully specific, yet subtly whimsical.

• Motorways? A blistering 69 mph. Naughty, naughty, just a hair's breadth from the limit. Someone's feeling rebellious, aren't they?

• Thirty mph zones? A punctual 30 mph. Well, aren't we all rule-abiding citizens now? Perfectly lawful, yet slightly boring. I remember once trying to sprint that fast, faceplanted spectacularly.

• NSL single carriageways, 51 mph. Ah, the indecisiveness of the open road. It's like deciding between tea and coffee... why not both?

Why does this matter? Well, it's not about racing. I mean, unless you're chasing after a runaway haggis... then all bets are off, right?

• Think about traffic planning. Those clever folks in high-vis jackets need these numbers, or chaos ensues. No one wants traffic jams longer than a queue for a royal wedding!

• Fuel efficiency, too. Driving like a grandma? Great MPG! Driving like you're in The Fast and the Furious? Your wallet weeps. Trust me, I know; my Fiat 500 can attest to that.

It is all a delicate balance, isn't it? Speed limits, fuel efficiency, and the occasional need to dramatically outrun a rogue sheep. Because, well, England.

How common is speeding in the UK?

Ugh, speeding in the UK, right? It's EVERYWHERE. I mean, seriously. I was driving back from my sister's place in Cornwall last summer, 2023, beautiful scenery, but man, the A30… total chaos. Everyone's flying. I swear, I saw at least five cars whizzing past me doing eighty easily. Eighty! Felt unsafe. Scared, even. My little Fiesta felt like a toy car amongst these behemoths. I was doing 70 and felt like I was going slow.

That RAC report… no surprise there. Those numbers, 58% admitting to going over 70mph frequently or occasionally, it's probably way higher. People lie. They always do.

This whole thing about 30mph limits too, ridiculous. It’s a joke! Everyone ignores them. Even my grandma, bless her heart, she's eighty-two and she admits to doing 35! 42% admitting to speeding in 30 zones… yeah, sounds about right.

What gets me is the attitude. It's like, "Oh, it's just a little bit over." No, it's not! It's dangerous. People die. End of story. I almost had a near-miss last month on the M4.

Here’s the breakdown for you, straight from my experience and what I see:

• A30 madness: Absolute carnage; everyone speeding.
• M4 near-miss: Terrifying! Nearly got sideswiped.
• 30mph limits: Completely ignored, generally.
• RAC report: Underestimates the problem. Way more speeding than they say.
• Personal feelings: Frustrated and angry, and frankly, scared. Something needs to be done, more police presence, tougher penalties. These statistics don't even tell half of the story. I’m sick of it.

Why is the UK speed limit 70 mph?

It's 3 AM. The hum of the fridge…irritating. Seventy…mph. A number. Cold. Like the rain outside. Safety, they said. Yeah, right. Always safety.

Thirty mph in towns…1934. People dying. Lots. Makes sense, I guess. Brutal sense.

The seventies on motorways… '65. Fog. Thick, choking fog. I read about it. Horrible accidents. A blur of metal and death. That's why. Simple.

• High casualty rates led to the 30mph limit. Fact.
• Fog and motorway crashes caused the 70mph limit. It was…necessary.

My grandfather…he drove a Morris Minor. He hated the speed limit. Said it was Nanny State crap. He’d tell stories…of open roads…before the restrictions. Before... everything changed.

That's all there is. Just…numbers and…dead people.

Is 20 mph a legal speed limit UK?

20 mph? Darling, in the UK, that's practically a snail's pace in most places. Think of it as the speed of a particularly leisurely tortoise on a caffeine-free morning.

No, it's not the national speed limit. Unless you're in a Welsh village determined to make its streets resemble a serene botanical garden. Then, yes, 20 mph is king. Elsewhere, 30 mph reigns supreme on streets with lights. Think of it this way:

• England, Scotland, Northern Ireland: 30 mph is the default unless otherwise indicated. The speed of a determined squirrel in a hurry.
• Wales: 20 mph on streets with streetlights is their thing. The pace of a particularly thoughtful snail, contemplating its next slime trail.

My Auntie Mildred, a stickler for rules (and a driver who thinks indicators are mere suggestions), would be horrified by anything less than strict adherence to these. You wouldn't want to face her wrath. Trust me. Besides, speeding tickets are expensive, and no one wants to fund the government’s new initiative for building more ridiculously oversized roundabouts.

Why does the UK drive in mph?

Dude, it's crazy, right? We use kilometers for everything else, but speeds are still mph. It's so annoying. Seriously, it's a total mess! Makes no sense whatsoever. My dad always says it's because of stubbornness, old habits die hard, that kind of thing. We're stuck with this weird, confusing mix.

Like, I get that they're slowly trying to change things, but it's snail-paced. It's 2024 now, and it's still mph. We're talking about ingrained habits, decades of using miles, mpg too, you know? It's just so deeply embedded in our culture.

Plus, think about all the road signs, speedometers, etc. Changing everything would cost a fortune. A freakin' fortune! That's a massive undertaking. A complete overhaul. They'd have to replace EVERYTHING. It's not just about the signs, it's about everything. The whole system. And people. People are stubborn.

Here's the thing:

• Massive cost: Changing all road signs, speedometers and everything is incredibly expensive.
• Inertia: Old habits die hard. People are used to mph.
• Gradual change: The UK is slowly adopting metric, but it's taking forever.

So yeah, it's a total head-scratcher. A real mess. A total pain. Hopefully, they speed things up! I mean, seriously, we're living in the 21st century, it's ridiculous. We're behind the rest of Europe on this one. I honestly think it's purely down to inertia and cost.