Speeding police officers seem to be getting the message, as the number of officers forced to pay fines for speeding is trending down.
In the Southern district, the number of police vehicles caught speeding between July 2014 and June 2015 surged after a change in policy but the number of officers forced to pay tickets stayed the same as the previous year, data released under the Official Information Act reveal.
In the district, 54 police vehicles were caught speeding and 20 fines were paid with 31 waived and three still outstanding.
Overall, numbers are down from five years ago, when 66 police vehicles were caught speeding and 30 fines had to paid.
Southern district road policing manager Inspector Tania Baron said all speeders who were caught were held to the same standard, regardless of their job.
''Any person caught breaking the law on our roads is disappointing and all road users are held to the same account and standards,'' she said.
''While not all of these may have been police officers, they are all still very disappointing.''
Fines were paid by the driver of the car and not covered by police.
''In ensuring the correct driver is held responsible, when pulled over by a police officer the driver is easily identifiable,'' she said.
''In the case of a speed camera fine, all vehicles are allocated and signed out to individual people or pairs when in use. If there is only a sole occupant, they are held responsible.
"If there is a pair and the driver cannot be identified by the speed camera photo, a discussion is held with the staff by their supervisor and the driver is identified.''
Officers were aware of the expectation they should follow the road rules, except when duty did not allow them to.
''All officers receive ongoing certification in driving,'' Insp Baron said.
''This forms part of the police professional driving programme, during which all police officers are continually made aware of the procedure when it comes to urgent duty driving.
"In all circumstances where urgent duty driving is not required, all police staff are aware of the road rules and various speed limits that apply.''
Nationally, 1077 police vehicles were caught speeding from July 2014 to June 2015. Of those, 336 fines were paid, 612 were waived, 121 were still outstanding and eight resulted in a transfer of liability from the district commander to the driver involved.
National road policing manager Superintendent Steve Greally said police staff did not receive any special treatment.
Police employees who travelled faster than the speed limit were treated no differently to members of the public and depending on the circumstances might be subject to further disciplinary action, he said.
However, officers speeding in performance of their duty were exempt from fines under the Land Transport (Road User) Rule 2004, he said.
A change to the recording process meant the number of infringements recorded last year rose.
Notices were now issued for cars caught speeding with flashing lights, pending an explanation from the driver, rather the previous process of presuming an urgent duty driving defence and not issuing a notice, he said.
