AA General Manager Mike Noon says that with a 4kph tolerance, it will be very easy for the Police to ticket a large number of safe drivers if they choose to and very little benefit will come from that.

"The AA doesn't believe that all people travelling a few kilometres over the limit are dangerous drivers.

"The Police should be targeting drivers who are driving dangerously fast or drivers who are very slow and not aware or considerate of other traffic."

Mr Noon says there is no doubt that dangerous speeding is involved in terrible crashes on our roads, but it's only one cause.

"Lots of crashes happen when people aren't speeding. There are many reasons why people crash and we think the Police and other government agencies have a duty of care and responsibility to tell people this.

"Most New Zealand drivers don't speed and don't drink drive and we are concerned that people who don't do these things are getting the message that it's only people who do who crash.

"The Police code more crashes to poor observation than anything else. If you're driving when you're tired or distracted by something, you could become a statistic this weekend. We think that more effort should be put into education and advertising about these other causes of crashes because what drivers do not know can and is hurting them on our roads," he says.

The AA has endorsed a UN resolution for a global Decade of Action for Road Safety and is working with government agencies to make sure New Zealand's new road safety strategy saves as many lives and prevents as many injuries as possible.

For more information contact

Mike Noon
General Manager: Motoring Affairs
New Zealand Automobile Association
M. +64 21 659 704
Email: mnoon@aa.co.nz

The New Zealand Automobile Association is an incorporated society with over one million members. It represents the interests of road users who collectively pay over $2 billion in taxes each year through fuels excise, road user charges and GST.