New data shows Western Australian drivers are slowing down, with the highest rate of compliance of WA's speed limits recorded in nearly two decades.
Road Safety Minister Michelle Roberts today released a survey of speed compliance, collated and prepared by the Road Safety Commission and Main Roads WA.
The results show that compared to the baseline survey from the year 2000, driver speed behaviour on both metropolitan and regional roads has improved significantly.
Last year, 72 per cent of drivers in rural areas were found to be travelling at or below the posted speed limit, compared with 60.9 per cent in the year 2000.
In the metropolitan area, 69 per cent of drivers were compliant, compared to 53 per cent, nearly 20 years ago.
The surveys are conducted using speed measuring strips which are routinely placed across the road in 200 different locations across WA with free-flowing traffic.
The metro speed zone where drivers were found to be the most compliant was 80km/h, while for regional drivers it was 70km/h zones.
The survey revealed the best compliance with speed limits was on weekdays, with 71.4 per cent compliance on metro roads recorded on Thursday and Friday, while drivers on regional roads recorded the best compliance on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.
Trends in Speed Behaviours on Metro and Rural Road Networks 2000-2018 reports are available at:
Trends In Driver Speed Behaviours On Rural Road Network 2000-2018; and
Trends In Driver Speed Behaviours On Perth Metropolitan Road Network 2000-2018
As stated by Police and Road Safety Minister Michelle Roberts:
"This data is really encouraging and shows that the culture amongst drivers is changing.
"As a State Government we've been working hard to drive home the dangers of speed in our community education campaigns.
"Independent verification of compliance with speed limits is very valuable in assessing whether our road safety strategies are working.
"Unfortunately under the former Government and Minister Liza Harvey, these surveys were defunded, resulting in a gap in information.
"It is worth noting that while this latest survey represents an encouraging trend, there is still room for more improvement.
"And while drivers who do the right thing have nothing to fear, police will continue to target those people who drive at excessive speeds and put themselves and other road users at risk."
