In a new television campaign, Transport for NSW (TfNSW) is urging motorists to slow down and not be casual about speeding.
Deputy Secretary for Safety, Environment and Regulation at TfNSW, Tara McCarthy said the campaign aimed to make motorists stop and think about the risks going “just a bit” over the speed limit could have.
“Every kilometre counts when it comes to speeding on our roads and this campaign clearly demonstrates how speeding can change your life, or others’ lives in ways you cannot imagine,” Ms McCarthy said.
“Research by Transport for NSW shows most drivers believe they can easily handle driving slightly over the speed limit and that this behaviour is not dangerous,” she said.
“However, the reality is that in NSW between 2015 and 2019, at least two thirds of speed-related deaths and serious injuries occurred when a driver or rider was travelling no more than 10km/h over the sign-posted speed limit.”
Ms McCarthy said drivers often assumed that only high speeds were dangerous.
“It’s time that this assumption is stopped, as well as the assumption people make that it’s ‘someone else’ who’s behaving dangerously on the roads and not themselves,” she said.
“The campaign clearly highlights that it isn’t just hoons who are putting lives at risk – it’s everyone who thinks it is OK to ‘go a bit over’ or not drive to the conditions.”
The Deputy Secretary said as speed increased, so did the likelihood of serious injury or death, with 130 people killed and more than 3,000 people injured in speeding-related crashes last year.
Ms McCarthy said going 5km over the speed limit in a 60km/h zone doubled a person’s chance of crashing.
“If you’re going 10 km/h over the speed limit in a 60 km/h zone, you’re four times more likely to be injured in a crash,” she said.
“There is no such thing as safe speeding, let’s all stop being so casual about it,” Ms McCarthy said.
