RACQ member surveys show:
- Most (53%) believe that the best definition of speeding is travelling too fast for the road, traffic or weather conditions or travelling at any speed over the speed limit;
- 89% agree that drivers caught committing serious speeding offences should have their vehicle impounded. Of these members, however, there is not a great deal of agreement about at what level of speeding offence the vehicle should be impounded. An appropriate level of offence for impoundment is:
-
- Between 41 and 50km/h higher than the speed limit according to 26%;
- Between 31 and 40km/h higher than the speed limit according to 22%;
- 51km/h or more over the limit for 20%; and
- Between 21 and 30km/h over the limit for 19%.
- When asked to define a serious speeding offence RACQ members also have differing views. Serious speeding is:
- Between 20 and 24km/h above the speed limit for 23%;
- Between 10 and 14km/h above the speed limit for 22%;
- Between 15 and 19km/h above the speed limit for 16%; and
- Between 25 and 29km/h above the speed limit for 10%.
- 80% believe that there should be rehabilitation programs for repeat speeding offenders;
- 78% support existing speeding offence criteria for penalties;
- 70% support more fixed speed cameras in Queensland;
- 68% want more speed camera vans in Queensland;
- 66% agree with the installation of point-to-point/ average speed cameras in rural areas; and
- 61% believe that it is acceptable to advise other motorists of the location of speed enforcement operations by flashing headlights or radio broadcasts.
(Market and Communications Research December 2008)
"People need to learn to drive according to the conditions and that speed limit signs are guides. Too many drivers take too many chances when conditions aren’t perfect" (RACQ Member, Banyo).
The modern vehicle can accelerate quickly and cruise effortlessly at speeds well over 100km/h. In air-conditioned comfort with music playing, the average driver can easily feel secure and be insulated against the true sensation of speed. Travelling at inappropriate speeds increases the likelihood of a crash occurring, while physics dictates that the faster the speed, the higher the likely severity of injury caused in a crash.
If average travel speed can be reduced, it is expected that the number of people killed and seriously injured in crashes can be reduced also. A number of studies into the link between speed and crashes have been undertaken, and common findings are:
- Small changes in mean average speeds can be expected to result in significant crash outcome changes; and
- Serious injury and fatal crashes are more sensitive to speed changes than crashes generally (European Transport Safety Council 2008, p6).
Australian research also suggests that speeds 5km/h above average in urban areas and 10km/h above average in rural areas can double the risk of a casualty crash – similar to the risk associated with driving with a blood alcohol content of 0.05 (Queensland Transport 2008, p12). Driving under the influence of alcohol is largely seen as socially unacceptable behaviour and speeding needs to be perceived the same way.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), of which Australia is a member, estimates that, at any one point in time, 50% of drivers are exceeding legal speed limits (European Transport Safety Council 2008, p7).
The difference between addressing illegal speeding and drink driving, is, therefore, that reducing speeding requires a larger number of non-compliers to change their behaviour, while there is a much smaller proportion of drivers who need to change their behaviour in relation to drinking and driving (European Transport Safety Council 2008, p7).
During 2008 there were 88 fatalities as a result of crashes involving speeding drivers or riders within Queensland, representing 26.8% of the Queensland road toll (Data Analysis Unit 2009). This was seven fatalities (or 7.4%) fewer than the previous year, and 17 fatalities (or 23.6%) greater than the previous five-year average (Data Analysis Unit 2009). Queensland Transport (2008, p12) has also advised that speeding contributes to large numbers of serious injuries and hospitalisations.
With many RACQ members supporting the introduction of vehicle impoundment for serious speeding offences, increased enforcement and rehabilitation programs for repeat speeders, Government should look to these initiatives as a means for potentially helping to reverse this trend.
Current speed limit enforcement initiatives also need to be continued, especially in rural areas of Queensland, where, during the period 1994- 2000, the relative risk of dying as a result of a speed-related crash was 3.1 times higher compared with urban areas (Queensland Parliamentary Travelsafe Committee 2002, p9).
An ongoing issue for consideration is whether road users should be allowed to notify others of the location of police speed enforcement by way of radio broadcasts or the flashing of headlights.
Priorities: Speeding
- Continue to educate the community about the dangers of driving at unsafe speeds by encouraging them to: - Adjust speeds to the prevailing road, traffic and weather conditions; - Understand that the speed limit is the maximum speed under ideal conditions; and - Appreciate the dangers of driving too fast for the unexpected and the difference that even low-level speeding can make to crash outcomes.
- Continue to research community beliefs and behaviours in relation to speeding, especially high-risk groups (e.g., motorists driving in rural and remote areas).
- Target high risk groups of drivers and riders identified from speeding offence data by implementing a level of education and enforcement so they better understand the dangers of speeding and perceive a real risk of detection should they re-offend.
- Ensure the most effective allocation of enforcement resources and enhance public acceptance of where speed detection activities are carried out by regularly monitoring and reporting trends in speeds, crashes and violation rates at speed enforcement locations.
- Apply site selection criteria to hand-held and mobile speed detection devices in a similar way to speed cameras, i.e., based primarily on crash history, public complaints, and long-term roadwork sites to encourage government accountability and evaluation of effectiveness.
- Increase the scale of speed management activities across the Queensland road network and encourage acceptance of speed management programs by educating the public and media about why new initiatives/enforcement tools are introduced and how they work using supporting research.
- Develop and introduce a best-practice rehabilitation program for speeding offenders.
- Introduce vehicle impoundment for drivers caught exceeding the speed limit by more than 40km/h.
- To help monitor the effectiveness of education, enforcement and engineering initiatives, monitor and report on community attitudes to speeding, travel speeds, average vehicle speeds and 85th percentile speeds.
- Collect, monitor and publicise information on speeding offences per hour of enforcement against the total number of vehicles checked for speeding by method of enforcement (e.g., LIDAR, Speed Camera, Mobile Radar).
- Promote the fuel consumption benefits (and associated green impact and fleet cost benefits) of lower travel speeds to assist in encouraging compliance.
References
Data Analysis Unit 2009, Personal Correspondence to RACQ, 03/06/09, Department of Transport and Main Roads, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
European Transport Safety Council 2008, ShLOW! Show me How Slow: Reducing Excessive and Inappropriate Speed Now: a Toolkit, European Transport Safety Council, Brussels, Belgium.
Market and Communications Research December 2008, RACQ Safety Policy. Survey: Quantitative Research Report, Market and Communications Research, Spring Hill, Queensland, Australia.
Queensland Parliamentary Travelsafe Committee 2002, Report on Rural Road Safety in Queensland, Report No. 36, Legislative Assembly of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Queensland Transport 2008, Queensland Road Safety Action Plan 2008-2009: safe4life, Queensland Government, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Contact
For more information contact RACQ Traffic and Safety on 1300 853 658 or 07 3872 8925, or email traffic@racq.com.au.
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