$11M IN TICKETS

Motorists copped $11.5 million in speeding tickets this summer during the police’s 4kmh tolerance period.

More than 298,000 people were issued tickets in December and January. That was more than double the 137,467 issued the previous summer, when the 4kmh limit was in place for only two weeks.

However, drivers were speeding less enthusiastically this summer, so the total fines issued were only $3m more than the previous summer. Most drivers earned $30 tickets for exceeding the limit by less than 10kmh. Bigger fines of $80 were saved for those up to 15kmh over the limit.

Drivers’ modest speeding was a mark of the success of the 4kmh message, national road policing manager Superintendent Carey Griffiths said.

‘‘While police would prefer not to issue any infringements, the fact that most people were ticketed in the 5kmh to 10kmh bracket, and not at higher speeds, indicates that more and more drivers are slowing down.’’

This summer’s road toll was 42 deaths, 15 fewer than the previous summer.

The 4kmh tolerance will be imposed again over the Easter and Anzac Day holiday period, from 4pm on Thursday, April 17, till 6am on Monday, April 28.

Police were yet to decide whether a 4kmh tolerance should be the norm, Griffiths said.

Having more police on the road and writing more tickets was only a short-term solution, Griffiths said. ‘‘As we move forward, technology will probably be the main operating solution.’’

Leo Mortimer, the ministry’s land transport safety manager, said that while motorists breaking the law was a worry, the data showed there was more respect for the speed limit today than there was 17 years ago.

Automobile Association motoring affairs general manager Mike Noon suspected a lot of the 50kmh speeding occurred on arterial roads, which should have a 60kmh limit.