Central Coast Council and NSW Police are working together to reduce speeding related crashes and fatalities in the region through a targeted education and enforcement campaign across May.

Speeding is a factor in 23 per cent of crashes causing injury or ‘casualty crashes’ on the Central Coast, seven per cent higher than the NSW average. Casualty crashes that also result in a fatality involve speeding in 43 per cent of cases on the Central Coast, three per cent higher than the state average.

Senior Sergeant Rob Lawson from NSW Police said the speeding culture on the Central Coast needs to change.

“If you collide with a pedestrian at 60km per hour, 85 per cent of those pedestrians will die,” said Senior Sergeant Lawson.

“Increasing your speed by 6km above the speed limit is likely to save you two minutes on the average Coast trip, but will substantially increase your chances of crashing and hurting another person. Two minutes or 120 heart beats – saving two minutes through speeding just isn’t worth it.”

The campaign will include 50km per hour educational messages and Police enforcement, which follows on from earlier traffic monitoring and road safety checks conducted by Council.

Mayor Jane Smith said education can have a big impact on reducing speeding and can ultimately save lives.

“This is a multifaceted campaign focussed on reducing levels of speeding across our region”, said Mayor Smith.

“This campaign helps us understand the perspective of our road users and to identify potential improvements to the road environment to help curb speeding and increase safety.”

This campaign follows Council’s ‘Look Out Before You Step Out’ initiative, which encouraged pedestrians to take an extra moment to look out before stepping onto our roads and to choose the safest place and time to cross.