Report by Duncan Williams for News Advertiser newspapers
Hundreds of motorists in Devon and Cornwall are being caught speeding each year because of a little-known rule affecting caravans, motorhomes and vehicles towing trailers.
New DVLA figures reveal the two counties recorded more SP20 speeding endorsements than almost anywhere else in Britain between 2022 and 2025 - despite accounting for a relatively small proportion of the population.
The SP20 offence applies when drivers exceed speed limits set specifically for larger or towing vehicles, rather than standard car limits.
In total, 806 drivers from Devon and 598 from Cornwall received the endorsements over the four-year period. Together, the counties accounted for 1,404 offences - more than one in five of the British total.
The figures were obtained through a Freedom of Information request submitted by Select Car Leasing.
Many motorists appear unaware that caravans and motorhomes are subject to lower national speed limits under the Highway Code. Vehicles towing trailers or caravans are restricted to 50mph on single carriageways and 60mph on dual carriageways, compared with 60mph and 70mph for ordinary cars.
The South West as a whole recorded 1,883 SP20 endorsements between 2022 and 2025 - almost 30 per cent of all offences issued nationwide.
Industry experts believe holiday traffic and rural roads may be contributing to the high numbers across Devon and Cornwall, particularly during the busy tourist season.
Graham Conway, managing director of Select Car Leasing, said many drivers simply do not realise the rules change once a caravan is attached or a motorhome is hired.
“Devon and Cornwall have exactly the kind of long, open roads where it is easy to drift above 50mph without thinking,” he said.
“These figures suggest thousands of drivers are doing exactly that.”
Nationally, SP20 endorsements rose sharply during the period covered by the data, increasing from 1,103 in 2022 to 1,999 in 2024 before dropping back to 1,489 in 2025.
The statistics also showed men accounted for around 95 per cent of offences, while drivers aged between 35 and 44 formed the largest group penalised.
Mr Conway said the figures suggested many experienced motorists were being caught out by regulations that are not widely understood.
“These are experienced motorists, the kind of people who have held a licence for decades and consider themselves perfectly safe behind the wheel,” he said.
“But the rules around towing and specialist vehicles are not well publicised and that is when endorsements happen.”
The DVLA said it does not hold detailed data showing which types of vehicles were involved in individual SP20 offences.
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