Northland police focus on summer speedsters

Two thousand more speeding tickets were issued in Northland last December and January than in the year before -- costing summer drivers dearly.

Speed cameras caught 2018 motorists and police officers wrote 6216 tickets for a total cost of $511,160. Officials believe the jump from 5963 in 2012/13 to 8234 last year is largely a result of the speed threshold being lowered to 4km/h over the limit from than the previous tolerance of up to 10km/h.

Northland road policing manager Inspector Murray Hodgson said getting motorists to reduce their speeds was high on his agenda this summer, as speed was a major contributor to serious crashes in the region.

"We want to focus again (this summer) on strictly enforcing the highway to stop people travelling above the speed limit," he said.

Police always aimed to have no fatal crashes in the region, but several factors made that difficult, he said.

"Two thirds of Northland roads aren't sealed; the weather affects the roads and how people drive; and people are fallible," Mr Hodgson said.

"It's very hard to predict anything. The only thing we know for sure is that the greater the speed, the greater the consequences."

Doing simple things right and having patience were basic ways of ensuring a safe trip during the summer period, he said.

"Plan your trip so you're not in a hurry to get to your destination. Take breaks so you're eliminating any fatigue factors that may be existing. Share driving. Maintain safe travelling distances between vehicles; and, if you're towing another vehicle, make sure it's warranted and registered."

Adjusting speed to the conditions was also important as not all roads were able to be driven on at 100km/h, he said. "The speed limit is not a target. Slow down if you need to."

Nationally the camera-issued speeding offences total in December and January was more than double that for the corresponding period for any of the past five years, at 256,500 for $11,504,460. Officer-issued speeding offences were similarly highest last summer at 62,254 for $5,783,930.

The national road death toll during the reduced-speed period was 42 -- a 26 per cent reduction in road deaths compared with the corresponding period the previous year. Twenty-three deaths in December was the lowest total recorded for the month since records began in 1965, and 19 deaths in January was the second lowest for the month. Plans for tackling summer speed would be announced this month, national police spokesman Kevin Sinnott said.