By Cherie Donnellan
A 15 PER CENT reduction in speeding fines suggests police are “getting through to drivers” on the Surf Coast, according to a leading traffic cop.
Senior Sergeant Shane Coles said fines were down 15.3 per cent on the coast in the past 12 months.
The Surf Coast recorded 4629 speeding offences in the 2011/2012 financial year compared to 5897 in 2010/2011.
Speeding fines were also down in Geelong, with a 9.3 per cent reduction.
Geelong police caught 6346 speeding drivers in 2011/2012 compared to 5897 in 2010/2011.
Snr Sgt Coles believed a “number of factors” could be behind the reductions but messages about the dangers of speeding were probably “getting through to drivers”.
Police would continue their emphasis on road safety despite the apparent improvement, he said.
“Geelong and Surf Coast police are continuing a stringent enforcement program on speeding drivers.
“We actively coordinate road traffic enforcement strategies, particularly through educational programs like in 2010 to 2011 when we showed drivers the importance of slowing down in school zones.”
Latest Traffic Accident Commission research suggested drivers’ attitudes to speeding had improved.
TAC data found that the number of drivers claiming they “never speed” had doubled from seven to 15 per cent since 2001.
The percentage of drivers claiming to speed “all or most of the time” dropped from 23 to 12 cent.
TAC’s acting chief executive officer Clare Amies welcomed the findings but said “there’s always room for improvement.
“Speeding is illegal, it is dangerous and it is one of the biggest killers on our roads, so it makes absolutely no sense why anyone would think it’s okay to do it.”
Ms Amies said previous research proved that even small reductions in average speeds resulted in significant road safety benefits.
“For every increase in speed of 5 km/h above a 60 km/h limit the crash-risk doubles,” she said.
TAC interviewing about 900 Victorian motorists to collate the survey data.
TALK THE TOLL DOWN: 15% fall in speeding fines on Surf Coast: Drivers ‘get message’
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