Northland motorists are putting too much pedal to the metal on the region's urban roads, travelling 0.5km/h faster than the average national speed of 51.3km/h in the 50km/h zones.
A new survey shows that motorists in Northland travelled at an average of 51.8km/h on the region's urban roads in 2012, up from 51.5km/h the previous year and the seventh highest speed in the country. Meanwhile, the average speed on Northland's open roads is at its slowest for more than seven years. But police say they will not stop targeting speedsters as the latest results showed tactics were working.
Northland road policing acting Senior Sergeant Lance Goulsbro said it was good news that people were travelling slower on the open road, adding he believed publicity and police campaigns were partly responsible for motorists taking their foot off the accelerator. But the increased speed on urban roads showed more work was needed there.
"Speeding is still a major focus for police because it's still a major cause of accidents on our roads, so we won't be slowing down our speeding enforcement," Mr Goulsbro said.
Most of Northland's fatal accidents are on the open road.