Increased speeding 'deeply worrying' when more cyclists on roads

Police Scotland said drivers should be more cautious to avoid putting more pressure on the NHS.

The proportion of drivers breaking the speed limit in Scotland has increased from one in five to one in three since lockdown.

Vehicle speeds across the Scottish trunk road network have shown a rise from fewer than 20 per cent speeding in early March before travel restrictions were introduced to up to 34 per cent by late April.

They were recorded by traffic counters, mainly in 30mph and 40mph zones.

The increase came as Police Scotland revealed to the RAC motoring group it had caught a driver speeding at 128mph on a 70mph section of the A77 near Prestwick in South Ayrshire.

Police Scotland said speed was a significant factor in serious crashes.

That was followed by complaints of large numbers of motorcyclists speeding last weekend on rural roads, especially in the north west, after a slight easing of the lockdown.

The increased speeding has come on far emptier roads, with traffic levels falling by up to 75 per cent at the start of the lockdown.

The Scottish Greens, who revealed the figures obtained from a written Parliamentary question, called for speed limits to be reviewed.

The Scottish Government’s development body Cycling Scotland expressed alarm at the speeding figures.

Chief executive Keith Irving said: “While the actual number of vehicles speeding has fallen, it is deeply worrying that the proportion of vehicles speeding has increased in lockdown.

“The data shows that a fifth of vehicles on trunk roads were observed speeding in early March and that had increased to a third of all vehicles in May.

“Dangerous driving behaviour puts everyone at risk - people in cars, on bikes and on foot - and it cannot be accepted.

“It’s especially concerning given more people are cycling, walking or wheeling around their communities at the moment.