Sharron Davies Says Poor Motorway Sign Caused Speeding Charge

Published: 18 February 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online

Baroness Sharron Davies, the former Olympic swimmer and women’s rights campaigner, is preparing to fight a speeding ticket in court after claiming that unclear motorway signs caused her to unintentionally exceed the temporary speed limit, court documents show. The 63-year-old peer was caught by a speed camera on the M4 motorway near South Gloucestershire late at night, when the speed limit had been reduced to 50 mph for road works. She insists she did not see any clear signs indicating the lower limit, blaming the signage as “so poor it was easy to miss” and saying she believed she was still driving within the usual 70 mph limit.

Davies, who was driving alone back from a speaking engagement in Wales when the incident occurred, has pleaded not guilty and said she intends to contest the charge at Bath Magistrates’ Court in August. In statements accompanying her plea, she described herself as a cautious driver and explained that she uses cruise control and navigation apps, such as Waze, to help stay within the limit — but that the temporary reduction was not obvious to her at the time.

The former Commonwealth champion and television pundit said she was “shocked” to receive the notice of intended prosecution and reiterated that in her 45 years of driving she has never before contested a speeding fine. Davies was made a life peer last year after being nominated by the Conservative Party and sits in the House of Lords as Baroness Davies of Devonport, where she also champions issues affecting women and sport.

Her case highlights wider frustrations among motorists about variable speed limits and changing signage on smart motorways, where temporary limits are enforced for traffic management and road safety but can be hard to notice — a problem that has previously contributed to thousands of disputed fines across the UK due to delays between signs and speed camera enforcement.

Davies’s trial will test whether unclear road signage can constitute a valid defence against a speeding charge in a high-profile example, with potential implications for how similar cases are handled in future and how authorities manage temporary traffic restrictions.

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