Speeding staff ignore ACC safety drive

Managers and staff at ACC have been flouting the corporation's own driver safety campaign by speeding on the job.

In the past 12 months, 32 speeding tickets were picked up by corporation staff.

The tickets are contrary to a major ACC campaign against speeding called "Down with Speed". The corporation's literature calls excess and inappropriate speed the single biggest road safety issue in New Zealand.

The corporation's head of injury prevention Darrin Goulding said staff had received tickets for doing more than 30km/h above the limit.

"ACC does not condone speeding by its staff and staff members who receive speeding infringement notices in ACC fleet vehicles are admonished, and may be due further disciplinary action depending on the severity of the offence as well as remedial training and supervision," he said.

Six management staff were among those who received tickets, and 30 of the 32 tickets had been issued during work hours.

Of the speeding drivers:
Nineteen staff received tickets in 50km/h zones doing between 61km/h and 75km/h.
Five staff were ticketed in 70km/h zones doing 82km/h to 103km/h.
Eight staff were ticketed in 100km/h, driving at between 111km/h and 130km/h.


The higher-end speeding offences place the speeding ACC drivers in the second most serious speeding bracket, according to the police demerit system.

Those travelling more than 30km/h above the speed limit earn 40 demerit points of the 100 demerit points it takes to lose a driver's licence.

The ACC campaign on speeding places a strong emphasis on the need to reduce the rate at which we drive.

It says that in 2002, 126 people were killed and 2339 injured on New Zealand roads because of speeding.

"If we reduced average speed on New Zealand's rural roads by just 1km/h, a 4 per cent saving in injury and death would be achieved," the ACC's safety literature says.

The issue was uncovered by National's ACC spokeswoman Katherine Rich.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY