Speed: How to use speed limits safely

Speed kills

The single biggest road safety issue in New Zealand today is speed – drivers travelling too fast for the conditions.

In 2007, speed was a factor in:

• 32 percent of all road deaths (133 deaths)
• 18 percent of all reported injuries from road crashes (2949 injuries).

Driving safely with speed limits

Many drivers aren't aware that they can be travelling at the speed limit and still be driving unsafely.

The speed limit is the maximum legal speed that you can travel at on a road in perfect conditions.

However, road conditions are rarely perfect. As a safe driver, you'll have to look out for changes in traffic, road and weather conditions, and reduce your speed accordingly.

Traffic conditions to watch out for include:

• high volumes of traffic on the road
• pedestrians, joggers and cyclists
• parked cars.

Road conditions to watch out for include:

• bumpy or narrow areas on the road
• wet, icy or unsealed road surfaces
• signs warning of hazards such as sharp curves or a slippery surface.

Weather conditions to watch out for include:

• rain, wind or fog.

Judge the safe speed for the conditions

When you're driving, you need to be constantly judging the safe speed for the stretch of road you're on at that particular time. This is called driving to the conditions. If you don't adjust your speed to suit the conditions, you may be driving too fast, even if you're within the speed limit.

Keep inside the speed limit

Drivers who travel above the speed limit endanger the lives of others. We've all heard the saying 'Speed kills'. Higher speeds result in injuries that are more severe.

Look for hazard cues

Safe driving involves looking for important hazard cues. The faster you travel on a road, the more likely you are to miss these. And if you're speeding, you'll travel further before you react and apply the brakes. When you have applied the brakes, you'll travel further before you actually stop.

At faster speeds there's also a greater chance that other road users will misjudge how fast you're travelling.

How does speed affect road safety?

The faster you drive on the road, the more likely you are to crash. As your speed increases:

• the distance you need in order to stop increases
• there is a greater probability that you will be going too fast if you meet an unexpected change in road conditions
• there is a greater chance that other road users will misjudge how fast you are travelling.

The severity of injuries resulting from a crash is directly related to the impact speed of the vehicle – whether or not speeding was a factor in the crash.

What happens when a speeding vehicle crashes?

When a vehicle crashes, it undergoes a rapid change of speed. However, the occupants keep moving at the vehicle's previous speed until they are stopped – either by hitting an object or by being restrained by a safety belt or airbag.

Human bodies are not designed to be hurled against objects at speed, and the faster the speed, the more severe the injuries.

Risks to pedestrians

If a pedestrian is hit by a vehicle, the severity of their injuries is related to the impact speed. The probability of death for a pedestrian rises steeply from:

• 10 percent at an impact speed of 30 km/h

to

• 70 percent at 50 km/h.

The risks for vulnerable pedestrians, such as the elderly and young children, are higher.

Penalties

Fines

The maximum fine for exceeding a speed limit is $1000, which applies to serious speeding offences that are dealt with in court. Most speeding offences are subject to infringement fees (instant fines), which range from $30 for driving up to 10 km/h over the limit to $630 for driving between 46 and 50 km/h over the limit.

Driver licence suspension

From 16 January 2006, immediate 28-day licence suspension applies if you're caught travelling more than 40 km/h over the permanent posted speed limit, or more than 50 km/h over a posted temporary, holiday or variable speed limit.

• An example of a temporary speed limit is a speed restriction through road works.
• An example of a holiday speed limit is a lowered speed limit through a popular holiday destination (eg a beach resort) during a busy holiday period.
• An example of a variable speed limit is a lowered speed limit in a school zone at times when children are arriving at or leaving school.

Demerit points

Demerit points are given for all speeding infringements other than speed camera offences. If you get a total of 100 or more within two years, you'll be suspended from driving for three months.

Speed	Demerit points
Exceeding the speed limit by up to 10 km/h	10
Exceeding the speed limit by 11-20 km/h	20
Exceeding the speed limit by 21-30 km/h	35
Exceeding the speed limit by 31-35 km/h	40
Exceeding the speed limit by 36 km/h or more	50

Some facts about speed cameras

The number of crashes is substantially reduced when speed cameras are used. A study of crash data in the 20 months following the introduction of speed cameras in New Zealand in 1993 found a 23 percent reduction in fatal and serious crashes at urban speed camera sites and an 11 percent reduction in fatal and serious crashes at rural speed camera sites.

International experience shows that speed cameras are a highly cost-effective speed management tool. This means they save a lot of lives for the cost of putting them in place and operating them.

Speed cameras are sited on stretches of road that have a lot of speed-related crashes. The Police consult with councils, NZ Transport Agency and the local AA when deciding where to locate speed cameras.

Where you can find out more

• Read more about speed in this website:
  • About limits (in The official New Zealand road code)
  • Information about how communities can get involved in the setting of speed limits (in the 'Speed limits' section).
  • Road safety campaign to reduce speeding (in the 'Advertising' section).
• Read Drive to the conditions section in the ACC website. It provides information about speed limits and road conditions.
• Read statistics on speed-related crashes in the Ministry of Transport website.

Contact us

• Email us: info@nzta.govt.nz.
• Phone our driver licensing contact centre: 0800 822 422.
• Write to us: NZ Transport Agency, Private Bag 6995, Wellington 6141.