ALMOST 52,000 motorists were caught speeding in Northern Ireland last year.
In one instance, the PSNI recorded a driver travelling at 130mph on the M1 motorway in Craigavon.
Figures, which were obtained through a Freedom of Information request by car insurance expert, Confused.com, showed drivers in the north collectively paid out at least £5.2 million in fines for speeding last year, based on a minimum fine of £100.
In total, more than 2.2 million drivers across the UK were caught speeding in 2020, despite there being an advised `stay at home' order being in place for most of the year.
In some regions, drivers were clocked travelling at 163mph.
The number of drivers caught breaking the speed limit in London last year accounted for two per cent of the total UK speeding offences last year.
The number of offences dropped last April following a mandatory UK-wide lockdown, although 84,452 motorists were still caught travelling above the speed limit during this time.
This almost doubled to 165,609 in May when restrictions started to ease.
Offences then continued to increase over the summer, peaking at 225,297 in July.
Alex Kindred, car insurance expert at Confused.com, said: "It’s worrying to think that many people took advantage of quieter roads during lock-down to ramp up the speed.
"Speed limits are in place for a reason - to keep road users and pedestrians safe," he said.
"If you’re caught speeding, you could be paying out up to 175 per cent of your weekly income - this could be up to £1,000 for some drivers, or £2,500 on a motorway".
