Speeding drivers are the biggest killers on our roads

30 Oct 2008

MEDIA RELEASE: Thursday, 30 October, 2008

Speeding drivers have been put on notice that Victoria Police will catch them in the latest TAC campaign launched today.

Minister for the TAC Tim Holding said the new campaign reminds drivers of the likelihood of getting caught if you continue to speed on Victoria’s roads.

“Police are using all the speed enforcement technologies available to them to tackle the single biggest killer on our roads – speed,” Mr Holding said.

“Speed is involved in at least 30 per cent of fatal crashes. When viewed in the context of last year’s road toll of 332, around 100 lives could have been saved if people had simply slowed down and taken more care on the roads.”

The campaign starts tonight and runs for three weeks on TV, radio, outdoor billboards and online with a strong focus on the range of enforcement methods employed by Victoria Police including fixed and mobile cameras, radars as well as marked and unmarked police vehicles.

Research commissioned by the TAC indicates that one in four drivers have been caught speeding in the last two years and that there is still one in 10 drivers who admit that they speed all or most of the time.

Drivers are also less likely to continue to drive over the speed limit after they are issued with an infringement.

Mr Holding said speed enforcement operations perform a very important role to help protect law abiding drivers from the would-be speeder.

“This is not about revenue raising as some critics of speed enforcement would have you believe – it is about reducing the senseless and unnecessary deaths and injuries on our roads caused by speeding,” he said.  

“Speeding reduces the time drivers have to react and avoid crashes, their ability to control the vehicle and lengthens stopping distances, increasing both the likelihood of crashing and the severity of the crash outcome.

“People can no longer ignore the facts. Speeding increases crashes and Victoria Police is fed up with speeding drivers and riders putting innocent lives at risk. The clear message from the Victoria Police is that they’ll catch you before someone gets hurt.”

Young Victorians have been shown the shocking reality of car crashes and the importance of road safety at a unique display of two actual crashed vehicles at Federation Square this week. 

The 2008 road toll at midnight on 29 October 2008 stood at 256, compared with 262 at the same time last year.