Speeding

This article has been copied from the RTA website:

Speeding - The biggest killer on our roads

Click here to go to the RTA website and watch crash camera video of head-on crashes at 60 km/h vs 100 km/h.

While the NSW road toll has fallen from more than 1200 a year in the 1970s to less than 500 (based on the 2006 road toll and the preliminary figures for 2007), speeding remains an enduring problem.

In the 1970s and early 1980s, drink driving was Australia's biggest road safety challenge.

Since random breath testing was introduced in 1982 there’s been a change in community opinion - drink driving is not acceptable. As a result, there are far less alcohol-related road deaths.

With the decrease in drink driving, speed has become the biggest road safety challenge for the RTA.

The size of the problem

In NSW speeding is a factor in about 40 per cent of road deaths. This means around 200 people die each year from speeding in NSW. Speeding was a factor in the deaths of 1049 people over the five years 2002–2006. In addition to those killed, more than 4700 people are injured in speed-related crashes each year.

The cost of speeding is not only a human one. Speed-related crashes cost the community around $780 million each year.

Year        Total road deaths        Speeding deaths     Speeding deaths as % of road toll

2002                  561                             256                                      46       
2003                  543                             209                                      38       
2004                  518                             196                                      38       
2005                  508                             190                                      37       
2006                  498                             198                                      40       
2007*                445                             TBC                                     TBC       
Average              512                             210                                      40       
(*2007 crash data is provisional and may change upon the results of further Police or Coronial Investigations.)

Crash risk

Speeding increases the risk of a crash and the severity of the crash outcome.

The risk of causing death or injury in an urban 60km/h speed zone increases rapidly even with relatively small increases in speed. The accident risk at 65km/h is about twice the risk at 60km/h. At 70km/h, the accident risk is more than four times the risk at 60km/h.

Speed – km/h     Risk relative to 60 km/h       

65                       Double       
70                       4 times       
75                      11 times       
80                      32 times       

The risk of a crash when driving at 68km/h in a 60km/h zone is the same as driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.08. The risk of a crash when driving at 72km/h in a 60km/h zone is the same as driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.12.

A key issue in speeding-related crashes is that most motorists underestimate the distance needed to stop. A car travelling at 60km/h in dry conditions takes about 38 metres to stop. A car travelling at 80km/h needs an extra 20 metres.