By Ellen Morgan
Published: Tuesday, August 10, 2021
Since the 2016-17 financial year, South Australian Police have charged or cautioned drivers on SA roads on more than one million occasions; a shocking figure for the state.
According to figures obtained by RAA, 980,731 speeding fines were issued in the past 5 financial years, with an additional 76,214 cautions recorded.
The surprising figures are a timely reminder to South Australian motorists to keep an eye on the speedometer and remain within the limits set by authorities.
RAA Senior Manager of Safety and Infrastructure Charles Mountain says it’s not just a speeding fine or a caution that motorists are risking when they put the pedal to the metal and creep over the speed limit – they’re also risking the lives of themselves and other motorists on our roads.
“Research shows that speed continues to be a major contributing factor to serious and fatal crashes,” Charles says.
“In fact, it’s one of the top five causes of road trauma.”
“Even small increases in speed mean you travel a longer distance before you react, combined with a longer stopping distance.”
It’s for this reason RAA is urging motorists to remain safe and stick to the speed limit at all times. After all, it’s always better to be safe than sorry.
It’s a safety message RAA believes should remain at the forefront of motorists minds every time they get behind the wheel. But it’s a reminder that’s needed now that more people are undertaking trips and exploring regional South Australia.
Last financial year alone saw an almost 10% increase in the amount of speeding offences recorded around the state compared to the previous year.
The statistics also revealed there had been a large increase in the number of offences recorded by mobile speed cameras rather than fixed cameras. There were 117,000 mobile camera generated speeding fines last financial year – a 32% increase compared to 2019-20.
Mr Mountain says mobile speed camera locations are commonly chosen as a result of reports of speeding vehicles in the area. Many of these, he says, occur on suburban streets with a 50km/h speed limit. Also look out for streets with lower limits such as 40km/h in some local areas.
“I encourage motorists to err on the side of caution when it comes to our suburban streets,” he says.
“If you don’t see a sign, remember that the default speed limit on streets without speed limit signs is 50km/h and this is set for the safety of all road users – cyclists and pedestrians included.”