people killed in crashes where speeding was a factor in 2016

serious injuries in 2016 when speeding was a factor

We're watching your speed. Are you?

With police and speed cameras ever-present on our roads, it’s like there’s a cop in every car keeping a constant eye on your speed.  More police. More cameras.



If you are caught exceeding the speed limit in Western Australia, you will be subject to various penalties. A full list of speed offences and penalties can be found on the speeding road rules and penalties page.

In Western Australia, 100% of all red light and speed camera infringements go into the Road Trauma Trust Account (RTTA). Those funds are then allocated to improve road safety across the state.

Speed Camera Locations

The Road Safety Commission supports public access to the locations of speed cameras around Western Australia. WA Police release daily speed camera locations for the metropolitan area.

Stopping distances

The simple truth about speeding is: the faster you go, the longer it takes to stop and, if you crash, the harder the impact.

Reaction distance is the distance you travel between seeing a problem and hitting the brakes. If you’re on the ball (i.e. not distracted), you’ll react in 1.5 seconds. That is pretty quick. But despite your quick reaction, if you’re doing 60km/h, you’ll still travel 25 metres in the time it takes for the message to get from your brain to your foot.

Braking distance is the number of metres you travel between hitting the brakes and coming to a complete stop. You’ll cover another 20 metres before this happens, assuming you’re driving on a dry road, in a modern car with good tyres and brakes. If the road is wet, or your car is a bit dodgy, things can get very scary.

Stopping distance is the distance you get when you add your reaction distance to your braking distance. If you’re doing 60km/h, add 25 metres (best case reaction distance) to 20 metres (best case braking distance), and you should come with 45 metres. For the sports-minded, that’s the length of two cricket pitches.

Now taking this information into consideration, what happens if you are speeding? It is easy to see that 5km/hr over the speed limit, even in ideal conditions, will greatly impact your ability to brake in time to avoid a crash. The stopping distance due to speeding could be the difference between someone escaping with little more than a scare and a pedestrian losing their life.

Crashing at speed

It’s simple – the faster you travel, the less time you have to react to emergencies or to stop. And if you do crash, the faster you are travelling, even if within the speed limit, the greater the risk of injury to you and your passengers.

The risk of being involved in a crash resulting in injury in a 60 km/h speed zone doubles with every 5 km/h increase in driving speed above the limit. This means travelling at 65 km/h in a 60 km/h speed zone doubles the chance of having a crash resulting in injury. Travelling at 70 km/h increases the chance of crashing by 4 times and travelling at 80 km/h increases this chance by 32 times.

This is due to kinetic energy, which a person or object has while it is moving. This energy is gained during acceleration and lost during deceleration. In a collision, the energy is transferred to the other person or object, usually as sound, heat and deformation of objects, including the human occupants.

Travel speed determines the amount of energy transferred in a crash. The human body can only absorb so much impact before death or serious injury result.

Road Trauma Trust Account

In Western Australia, 100% of all red light and speed camera infringements go into the Road Trauma Trust Account (RTTA). Those funds are then allocated to a diverse Program of Works to enhance road safety across the state.

The Program of Works details projects in the following areas:

  • Metropolitan intersection crashes - State & local roads
  • Regional & remote road improvements - State & local roads
  • Impaired driving crashes
  • Inappropriate speed crashes
  • Vehicle safety, occupant protection & other road users
  • Informing & mobilising road safety action