I don't think comparing a tiny island to an enormous country makes sense. Speed limits are far lower all over the UK simply because they can be when you're not

I don't think comparing a tiny island to an enormous country makes sense. Speed limits are far lower all over the UK simply because they can be when you're not covering as much distance. It's far more usual to drive from e.g. California to Arizona than it is to go from even London to the Scottish Highlands (because there's barely anything up there). It's hard to find an accurate comparison in Europe for that reason. Even places that are quite big (tall) like the Nordics are basically unpopulated in the north so there's nowhere to go.