Traffic fines have cost Kiwis more than $272 million

Friday, 31 July 2020

Kiwi drivers are racking up hundreds of millions in traffic fines each year, a new analysis has found.

The study, by financial comparison website Finder, looked at NZ Police data accumulated from March 2019 to March 2020. Drivers in NZ were found to have committed more than 2.9 million traffic offences, totalling just over $272 million, or $74 per person.

Speeding is the number one traffic offence in New Zealand, with over two million drivers caught out by a mobile speed camera (764,532), a static speed camera (1,390,061) or a police officer (536,194).

Speeding tickets generated over $241 million in twelve months.

Speeding tickets alone generated $241,738,450 over those twelve months. By way of comparison 353 people died on our roads in 2019.

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Drink-driving fines totaled just over $3 million while more than four times that amount was paid for not wearing a seatbelt.

* 'Little lies' have big consequences says insurer

* Ticket numbers increase as police target 'high risk areas'

Getting caught while doing this will result in an $80 fine and 20 demerits on the spot.

* Two speed cameras, two days, 302 speeding vehicles

* South Canterbury speed cameras see 51,516 tickets issued in past five years

In terms of geography, the area with the most speeding tickets is Canterbury Metro, with over 102,000 issued by officers and mobile speed cameras. The place with the fewest speeding infringements is Auckland East, only responsibly for 6198 tickets. However, the study doesn’t mention how many traffic officers or mobile speeding cameras are in each area, which could influence the number of fines issued.

Meanwhile, the lowest total cost in traffic fines actually goes to driving under the influence of alcohol. Just $3 million was paid in fines over the twelve-month period, compared to the $12.8 million paid for not wearing a seatbelt. Around 52,600 people were fined for driving under the influence while nearly 91,000 were fined for not wearing a seatbelt.

This was followed by failing to stop at a red light, with 42,000 fines issued at $150 each for a combined cost of $8.6 million.

Just under $6 million was paid for using a mobile phone while driving. The fine for that is $80 and was issued 78,570 times. For reference, not wearing a seatbelt is a $150 fine.

A total of 2,717,787 tickets were issued for speeding, combining those dealt by officers, mobile speed cameras and static cameras.

According to Kevin McHugh, Finder’s New Zealand publisher, racking up traffic infringements can also push your insurance costs up as providers are more likely to see you as a liability.

“You also risk having your cover voided if you lie about previous traffic convictions on your application,” he said.

A recent study also by Finder, asked 2143 respondents about their car insurance. Around 15 per cent said they were not entirely truthful when applying for insurance, equivalent to around one in six New Zealanders if we stretch that to its credible limits.

Insurance and Financial Services (IFSO) Ombudsman, Karen Stevens later added: “a ‘little lie’ can have big consequences.”

Vehicle insurance policies – and most other types of insurance – will almost immediately be voided if the company finds out about any white lies that may jeopardise the validity of the claim or even get you in trouble with the law.