Revealed: Local authorities in England with the slowest drivers

• Brighton and Hove is home to the slowest drivers, based on average A road speeds of drivers.
• Reading comes in second on the list.
• Nottingham comes in third.

The study by car parts marketplace Ovoko analysed data from the National Highways National Traffic Information Service, which collected the average speed of all drivers between 2019 and 2023 for every 'A’ road in England to see which local authorities had the slowest drivers. Due to London’s high number of 20-mile-per-hour zones and general congestion, it was excluded in this story to provide a broader outlook on the rest of the country’s driving.

It found that Brighton and Hove is the area with the slowest drivers outside of London. Of the ‘A’ roads studied in the local authority, the average speed of all drivers between 2019 and 2023 was just 13 miles per hour, giving it the top spot of any area. The A2010 was the road with the slowest speeds on average, at just 6.06 miles per hour.

Reading takes second place, with an average speed of 13.6 miles per hour in the time studied. The A329 had the slowest drivers in the authority, averaging 11.4 miles per hour.

Nottingham area makes its way into the top three, with an average speed of 13.8 miles per hour on all ‘A’ roads. Average speeds were found to be lowest on the A610, at 11.7 miles per hour.

Southampton is fourth, with an average speed of 14.3 miles per hour. The study found that the A3057 was the road in the local authority with the lowest average speed, at just 9.96 miles per hour.

With an average speed of 14.9 miles per hour across all ‘A’ roads in the authority, Slough comes in fifth place. The A355 was found to have the lowest average speed in the area, at 12.26 miles per hour.

Commenting on the findings, a spokesperson for Ovoko said: “From this data, it’s clear that driving the speed limit, particularly in major cities, is challenging, as most of the entries are big cities with lots of urban space. With public transport being the obvious alternative in many places, it’s either that or you find yourself filling up your car to roll around at an average of below 15 miles per hour. However, many urban areas are beginning to enforce 20 miles per hour speed limits on all roads for general safety reasons, and as this becomes more common it’ll be worth noting whether average speeds come down across the country.”