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.
(*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.
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.
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