Ten facts about speeding in New Zealand

POLICE have been forced to waive speeding tickets because new digital speed cameras are innacurate, but how much does speed contribute to fatalities on New Zealand roads?

A police spokesman told the Dominion Post that the new mobile cameras, introduced nationally in January, were wrongly recording the speeds of larger vehicles. Some tickets were issued for twice the vehicles' true speeds.

As a result, police have stopped processing infringement notices for high-sided trucks and buses and have waived at least 133 tickets after complaints, including 10 proven cases of inaccurate readings.

You are twice as likely to die in a road accident in New Zealand than you are in the UK. Here are some facts about speeding in New Zealand.

• More fatal crashes involving speed take place on Sunday night between 0000-0359 than at any other time
• In October 1993 speed cameras were introduced to New Zealand
• In January 2006 a new provision of the Land Transport Act came into force allowing roadside suspension for driving at 40 km/h or more above the speed limit
• In 1975 speed limit and road signs were changed to metric
• In 2007, speeding was a contributing factor in 117 fatal crashes, 434 serious injury crashes and 1,471 minor injury crashes
• Between 2005 and 2007, driver speed was a factor in 32% of fatal crashes, 20% of serious injury crashes and 15% of minor injury crashes
• There were 536,995 speed camera tickets issued in the 15 months to April 15th 2009
• Forty-three roadside digital cameras, in modified people-mover vehicles, were introduced in January, replacing 31 old mobile, wet film cameras
• There is an ongoing attempt to lower the road toll to less than 300 by 2010.
• For every 100 drivers or riders killed in road crashes in which speeding is a contributing factor, 53 of their passengers and another 31 road users die with them

Sources
Dominion Post article on speed cameras
Ministry of Transport paper on speeding