Arguments over speeding and the use of deterrents such as speed cameras have reached new levels in the past few years.

But drivers shouldn’t ask ‘why do they stop us speeding’ and instead ask ‘is it really worth it’.

In-depth analysis of a range of journeys covering local roads, dual carriageways and motorways suggests that speeding just isn’t worth it in many cases. 

At its most basic level, on the majority of long journeys, the MOST time you could save by speeding at the most reckless level would barely cover the time needed to take your coat off and fire up your computer.

In reality, speeding will only cut your journey by a couple of seconds.

For example, driving from London to Slough at the posted speed limits should take 1hr 44mins.

If, like many drivers, you drove at 90mph on motorways, your journey time would drop to 1hr 35mins, a nine-minute saving – but only with no traffic and no hold ups.

Take another journey, this time from Reading to Birmingham, a 98.5 mile run taking 1hr 50mins at the legal limits.

If you drove at 80mph whenever you hit a motorway the journey time would drop by just six minutes and at 90mph by 11 minutes. But once again, this is on a clear road at average speeds.

Even doing 100mph would only cut 18 minutes from the journey.

Speeding in built up areas at 50mph instead of 30mph would save four minutes on the same journey.

In fact, if you drove like a lunatic, doing 100mph on the motorway, did 70mph in 60mph zones and 50mph in 30mph zones, you would still only manage to cut 30 minutes off the Reading to Birmingham journey if the road was completely empty and there were no hold ups – and you didn’t get lost.

In a real-world round trip of 230 miles, a test driver managed a trip from Peterborough to Southend-on-Sea in just under two hours at the posted speed limits.

On the return journey, even attempting to drive as fast as possible, the driver still took the same amount of time.

The reason is clear.

Although overtaking a lorry on a busy road may feel like you are making up time, the actual benefit to your journey when in traffic is less than two seconds.