Sub Navigation

Return to normal view

Speeding

Speeding is a major cause of death and serious injury on Victorian roads. 

Speeding increases the likelihood of a crash and the severity of a crash. This principle is based on simple physics. The faster a vehicle travels, the longer it will take to stop. Then, if a vehicle is involved in a crash, the severity of a crash will be relative to the speed the vehicle was travelling. So the faster a vehicle is travelling, the higher the severity of the crash. 

The speed/crash relationship is supported by a large number of studies, including: 

  • a landmark report by the Norwegian Institute of Transport Economics released in December 2004. This report combined the results of a number of speed and crash studies and found that:

"There is a strong statistical relationship between speed and road safety. When the mean speed of traffic is reduced, the number of accidents and the severity of injuries will usually go down. When the mean speed of traffic increases, the number of accidents and the severity of injuries will usually increase".

  • A 2005 review by the Netherlands Institute for Road Safety of driving speed and the risk of road crashes concluded:

"empirical studies into the relationship between speed and the risk of a crash show that…the crash rate increases when speed increases."

  • Research conducted by ‘Swedish Road Administration - Vagverket’ which looked at crash rates before and after changes in speed limits, found a strong statistical relationship between speed and crash rates.
  • Speeding was found to be the number one road safety problem in most countries around the world according to a major study conducted by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the European Conference of Ministers of Transport (ECMT) in 2006. The research also showed reductions in average speeds of approximately five per cent would reduce fatalities by as much as 20 per cent.
  • A US study conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that fatalities on freeways were 29 per cent higher than expected in the 40 states that increased speed limits after 1987. Two-thirds of this increase was directly attributed to drivers travelling at higher speeds.
  • A 2005 review by the SWOV Institute for Road Safety Research (Netherlands) on 'Driving speed and the risk of road crashes' concluded that "empirical studies into the relationship between speed and the risk of a crash shows that…the crash rate increases when speed increases".