A new ad campaign by NZ Police and NZTA is attempting to ram home the "inescapable truth" that speeding is always a crucial factor in the severity of road accidents.
Released today on television, video-on-demand and on YouTube, police describe their campaign as challenging the right many Kiwi drivers still feel they have to speed.
"Police officers see the human cost of speed nearly every day on our roads. Crashes occur due to a wide range of mistakes, whether involuntary or deliberate, but the outcome is vastly different at different speeds," Assistant Commissioner for Road Policing Sandra Venables says.
"Even when speed doesn't cause the crash, it is the single biggest determinant in whether anyone is killed, injured, or walks away unharmed. A small change in speed makes a big difference to injury severity.
"Our plea to all drivers this year is to be courteous and slow down, to make sure you get to your destination safely."
The ad is filmed from the perspective of a police officer talking straight to camera and contains a number of confronting visuals of highway crash scenes.
In particular, the ad takes aim at the well-worn driver excuse that: "I was only a little bit over".
The joint NZ Transport Agency/Police campaign also touches on the significant proportion of Kiwi drivers who still like to travel at speeds which are too fast for the conditions, on the open road and around town.
"Every week, 11 people are seriously injured or killed in a speed-related crash on New Zealand roads, but a substantial portion of our society does not see the connection between speed and crashes," says NZ Transport Agency Director of Safety and Environment Harry Wilson.
"That needs to change, because the facts and the physics are indisputable. Speed is always a crucial factor in determining the severity of the crash and the severity of the injuries to the people involved. The simple and inescapable truth is that less speed means less harm in a crash."
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