Speeding
Speed
Speeding is defined here as driving too fast for the conditions.
The faster you go, the more likely you are to crash and the greater your risk of serious injury or death. No matter what causes a crash, vehicle speed directly affects the force of impact.
Speed and crash risk
As speed increases, there is an increase in the following factors and, in turn, an associated increase in the risk of crash involvement (Patterson, Frith and Small, 2000):
- Stopping distance — both the distance travelled during reaction time and the distance travelled after the brakes are applied
- The probability of exceeding the critical speed on a curve
- The chance of other road users misjudging how fast the speeding driver is travelling
- The probability of a rear-end crash if the driver has not accounted for the increased speed by increasing the following distance.
Summary for 2023
In 2023, there were 84 fatal crashes, 444 serious injury crashes, and 1353 minor injury crashes where speeding (travelling too fast for conditions) was a contributing factor.
In these crashes, 94 people died, 561 people were seriously injured, and 1964 people suffered minor injuries.
Deaths in crashes involving speed since 1984
Casualties in crashes involving speeding
Crashes involving speeding
Contribution of speeding to crashes
The more serious the crash, the more likely it is that speed was a contributing factor.
In New Zealand for the years 2021 - 2023, driver speed was a factor in 32 percent of fatal crashes, 21 percent of serious injury crashes, and 16 percent of minor injury crashes.
Percentage of crashes with driving too fast for the conditions cited as a contributing factor (2021 - 2023)
Alcohol/drugs and speed in fatal crashes (2021 - 2023)
The combination of driver alcohol/drugs and speed contributes to 22 percent of fatal crashes. Driver alcohol/drugs alone contributes to 26, and speed only to 11 percent of fatal crashes.
Speeding in fatal crashes by road type
19 percent of fatal crashes were open road (speed limits 80 km/h or more) crashes that involve speeding as a contributing factor. A further 14 percent were urban (speed limits 70 km/h or less) crashes in which speeding is a contributing factor.
Speeding was a contributing factor in 43 percent of urban fatal crashes and 28 percent of open road fatal crashes.
Types of fatal crash where speeding was a factor (annual average (2021 - 2023))
Who dies in crashes where speed was a contributing factor
For every 100 drivers or riders who died in road crashes where speeding was a contributing factor, 39 of their passengers and 21 other road users died with them.
Who dies in crashes in which speed is a contributing factor (2021 - 2023)
| Age | Speed involved drivers | Passengers with speed involved drivers | Other road users | Percent of all deaths in crashes by age group |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | |
| 0-14 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 21% |
| 15-19 | 25 | 25 | 4 | 53% |
| 20-24 | 31 | 14 | 3 | 39% |
| 25-29 | 33 | 13 | 5 | 50% |
| 30-34 | 26 | 7 | 1 | 31% |
| 35-39 | 17 | 2 | 3 | 31% |
| 40-44 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 39% |
| 45-49 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 29% |
| 50-54 | 14 | 2 | 3 | 27% |
| 55-59 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 26% |
| 60+ | 23 | 6 | 15 | 17% |
| Total | 205 | 80 | 43 | 32% |
Seatbelts
Speeding drivers in speed-related crashes are less likely to wear safety belts than drivers in crashes where speed is not a factor. Between 2021 and 2023 (where restraint use was known), 63 percent of the speeding car and van drivers who died were not restrained at the time of the crash. This compares to 36 percent of the drivers who died who did not have speed contribute towards the crash. Restraint use was not recorded for about 16 percent of the drivers who died, so the level of restraint use may be lower than indicated.
Drivers involved in crashes involving speeding
Drivers involved in fatal crashes by vehicles type (2021 - 2023)
From 2021 - 2023, speeding was a contributing factor in fatal crashes for 22 percent of car and van drivers, 35 percent of motorcyclists, and 2.7 percent of truck drivers.
Speeding drivers involved in fatal crashes by age group (annual average, 2021 - 2023)
Speeding drivers in fatal crashes by age and gender (2021 - 2023)
| Age | Total speeding drivers | Percent of total drivers | Female speeding drivers | Percent of female drivers | Male speeding drivers | Percent of male drivers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15-19 | 48 | 42% | 11 | 41% | 37 | 42% |
| 20-24 | 50 | 32% | 7 | 21% | 43 | 35% |
| 25-29 | 50 | 33% | 6 | 19% | 44 | 37% |
| 30-34 | 35 | 22% | 9 | 27% | 24 | 20% |
| 35-39 | 23 | 18% | 2 | 11% | 20 | 18% |
| 40-44 | 20 | 21% | 2 | 14% | 18 | 22% |
| 45-49 | 13 | 15% | 2 | 8% | 11 | 18% |
| 50-54 | 15 | 13% | 2 | 8% | 13 | 14% |
| 55-59 | 13 | 12% | NA | NA | 13 | 16% |
| 60+ | 29 | 9% | 8 | 10% | 21 | 9% |
| Total | 296 | 21% | 49 | 16% | 244 | 22% |
Note: Rows and columns do not add up to the totals because the age or gender of some drivers was not recorded. Percentages show, for each age/gender group, the percentage of drivers in fatal crashes that had speed involvement.
The 20-24, 25-29 year age group had the greatest number of speeding drivers in fatal crashes, while the 15-19 year age group had the greatest proportion (42 percent).
Males have a higher proportion of involvement in speed-related crashes.
Driver licence status and speeding
Speeding drivers in fatal crashes (percentage of each licence type) (2021 - 2023)
License status of speeding drivers in fatal crashes (2021 - 2023)
Note: Unknown/other includes drivers with an expired, unknown or incorrect licence class. Disqualified includes drivers who have been forbidden to drive.
Both restricted and learner licence holders are more likely to be involved in speed involved fatal crashes than whose with a full licences. However this group falls into the younger age categories, which are associated with more risky driving behaviour overall.
When speeding crashes occur
Fatal and injury crashes with driver speeding as a factor, by time of day and day of week (annual average, 2021 - 2023)
For fatal and injury crashes with driver speeding as a factor, the highest number of crashes from Monday through to Thursday occur in the early evening. Over the weekend, the high numbers extend into the late evening and early morning. The highest proportion of driver speeding crashes occur in the late evening and early morning.
References
Patterson, T.L., Frith, W.J., and Small, M.W. (2000) Down with Speed: A review of the literature, and the impact of speed on New Zealanders Accident Compensation Corporation and Land Transport Safety Authority. Wellington. https://transport.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/Report/ACC672-Down-with-speed.pdf [PDF, 1.1 MB]
Based on data extracted from the Crash Analysis System 2024-09-18.