Almost half of Brits want 80mph motorway speed limit
Wed, 12 Nov 2025
43% of British drivers think the motorway speed limit should be upped to 80mph, a new survey has revealed.
What’s more, nearly 1 in 3 admit to already have driven above 70mph on motorways.
The survey by choosemycar.com revealed an interesting split between male and female drivers on the matter. 55% of of men want the speed limit upped to 80mph, compared to just 32% of women.
Men are more likely to already be speeding, too – 34% of them, compared to barely 1 in 5 women.
Also noteworthy is the fact Gen Z drivers are most in support of an 80mph motorway speed limit – 59% of those aged 18-34 want it upped, while just 30% of over-55s agree with an increase.
The current 70mph motorway speed limit was set 58 years ago, in which time stopping distances have almost halved. It would take a typical 1967 car as many as 96 metres (315 feet) to stop from 70mph. Today, a modern SUV can do it in 55 metres, or 180 feet.
Nick Zapolski is founder of choosemycar.com and said the firm conducted a Freedom of Information request to Thames Vallery police. It showed 53% of speeding offences over 70mph were between the 70-79mph mark.
"Modern cars have improved beyond comparison on the last 60 years and yet the motorway speed limit has remained the same. This does seem ludicrous and it seems may Brits are already driving beyond the limit anyway," he says.
When the current 70mph speed limit was set, he added, seatbelts weren’t even mandatory.
"Our research suggests that Brits are ready for a review of the limit, perhaps more in line with some of our European neighbours."
Just across the Channel in France, the speed limit on autoroutes is 130kmh, or 80mph, while many other countries have a 130kmh speed limit – and more than half of the German autobahn network remains derestricted.
