SPEEDING was the most common driving offence in the Thames Valley region last year, figures reveal.

It accounted for more than nine in 10 driving offences according to transport charity RAC Foundation which analysed Home Office data.

Figures show that motorists were caught driving over the speed limit 145,447 times by Thames Valley Police in March 2018 to March 2019.

This means 92 per cent of the 158,854 motoring offences recorded over the period were for speeding.

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This was a higher proportion than across England and Wales as a whole as 84 per cent of the 2.8 million motoring offences logged across the two nations were for speeding.

The charity says the simple rule for drivers who want to avoid a speeding ticket is to stay within the limit.

Steve Gooding of the RAC Foundation said: “The simple rule for drivers who don’t want to risk ending up with a speeding ticket is not to break the limit in the first place.

“Where limits are properly signposted, and clearly feel right for the road in question, then motorists have no excuse for going faster.

“But that means highway authorities also have a responsibility to make sure the limits they set are appropriate and to avoid instances where the limit repeatedly bounces up and down along a single stretch.”

The number of speeding offences detected in the region in 2018-19 was 11 per cent higher than during the previous year, and six per cent more than in 2011-12.

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In the Thames Valley, 55 per cent of speeding offences in 2018-19 were dealt with by sending the driver on a speed awareness course.

The next most common outcome was a fine (36%), while six per cent of offences were cancelled and two per cent were taken to court.

The analysis, which was carried out with Liverpool John Moores University, found that the police force that detected the most speeding offences in 2018-19 was West Yorkshire with 182,000.

Department for Transport figures show 186 people were killed and 1,505 seriously injured in crashes on Britain’s roads in 2018 in which a vehicle exceeding the speed limit was a contributory factor.

A spokesperson for Thames Valley Police, said: “Thames Valley Police through the Joint Operations Roads Policing unit is committed to tackling those who speed and increasing awareness of the dangers of excessive speed whilst driving, as part of the ongoing Fatal Four Campaign.

“The risk of death is approximately four times higher when a pedestrian is hit at 40mph compared to at 30mph, and excessive or inappropriate speed has a devastating impact on the safety of road users, increasing both the risk of a crash and the severity of the consequences.

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“We would ask people to consider what speed is appropriate in the road conditions and realise it’s a speed limit not a target.

“Both enforcement and education will continue to play an important part in getting people to reduce their speed and improve road safety for everyone in the Thames Valley.”