A NEW SURVEY on Irish speeding habits show that drivers in Dublin and Cork are more likely to have broken the speeding limit recently when compared to the populations of the four provinces.

Over a fifth of the 7,260 respondents to an AA Motor Insurance survey admitted that they had broken the speed limit within the past month.

A further 9% admitted to speeding within the past 6 months and 10% within the last year respectively.

Male drivers were significantly more likely to have broken the speed limit, with just 28% stating they had never sped compared to 40% of women.

A third of motorists said they had never broken the speed limit.

Regional breakdown

Drivers across the country were asked how recently they had broken the speed limit – with the answers giving a rough indication of how often they speed on Irish roads.

The following table gives the responses to the question ‘In relation to your driving behaviour, when was the last time that you broke the speed limit?’

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Cork, Dublin and Leinster had the highest rate for the most recent answer (within the last month), while the highest number of drivers that answered ‘more than three years ago, was in Connaught and Munster (16%).

This could be caused by the state of Irish roads in rural Ireland: there are complaints that roads in Dublin are better maintained, which allows for drivers to reach higher speeds (no potholes and more major roads such as motorways).

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