Drivers in New Zealand end up paying millions of dollars in fines each year due to traffic violations, according to a study. The frequency of violations may in turn be making individual drivers’ insurance premiums more expensive.
Car insurance comparison site Finder analysed data from the New Zealand Police, which showed that there have been more than 1.6 million traffic offences in the country from March 2019 to March 2020. This is worth a combined $272 million, or roughly $74 per person.
According to the data, speeding was the number one traffic offence in New Zealand, with over a million drivers caught out by a mobile speed camera (764,532), a static speed camera (34,988) or a police officer (536,194). A total of $241,738,450 in speeding ticket fines was collected.
Speeding was most common in the Canterbury Metro area, with over 102,000 tickets issued. Auckland East had the least number of violations, with around 6,200 tickets.
Meanwhile, over 90,000 tickets were issued for not wearing a seatbelt, and 42,000 tickets were for failing to stop at a red light.
“From speeding to using a mobile behind the wheel, many drivers will receive a traffic fine over the course of their life,” said Kevin McHugh, Finder’s publisher in New Zealand.
“Not only can dangerous driving put the life of yourself and others at risk, the associated fines can end up costing hundreds or thousands of dollars. A history of traffic infringements can also jack up the cost of your car insurance premium, as insurers will see you as a potential risk.
“You also risk having your cover voided if you lie about previous traffic convictions on your application.”
