the AA in NZ looks at the speed limit issue

This is a perennial debate and with fuel prices falling it is likely drivers will be less concerned about burning it by going faster than they were when prices were high.

Over the most recent Christmas - New Year period the road toll in NZ was double what it was the previous year despite the Police announcing they were taking a zero tolerance stance on those who exceed the applicable limit - which in practice meant 4 km/h rather than the normal 8 km/h over.

Some tolerance is required as it is unreasonable to expect people to be able to adhere to the limit constantly - and many car speedometers over- or under-read, unlike the finely calibrated equipment the Police use.

There are also situations when a temporary burst over the limit is safer than not doing so, such as passing a cyclist when it is most suitable (but, of course, try giving that reason when you have been zapped by a speed camera and see how far you get...)

In the UK it is considered that excess speed is a factor in about 4% of crashes, in NZ the figure is put at about 20%.  That may be due to the limited opportunities to actually go over the limit because of the amount of congestion in the UK.

We commented in a recent post that the maximum limit of 100 km/h in NZ is appreciably lower than in other countries, and there are roads where a higher speed would not be unsafe.

The AA looks at all this on this webpage