11:45a.m. 6th January 2009

| By Kerryn Manifold

One fifth of drivers ignore speed limits according to a recent poll conducted by a motoring news site.

More than 1000 Motor Report website readers responded to a poll about driver attitudes to speeding that was conducted in mid-December.

About 90% of people who responded admitted breaking the speed limit in the poll and 20% said they would drive at whatever speed they could get away with.

The Motor Report director, Steane Klose, said the figures posed a problem for politicians and police.

"These results show that there is a credibility gap," he said.

"Drivers simply do not accept the position of the various state jurisdictions that posted speed limits are exclusively about safety outcomes and not also about other things."

Mr Klose said drivers commonly warned other drivers about radar locations and speed cameras.

"The view is widespread in the community that speed cameras are simply revenue collection devices," Mr Klose said.

Today in the Sunshine Coast Daily, acting inspector and north coast region traffic coordinator Peter Flanders said breaking the speed limit, even by a few kilometres per hour, could prove fatal.

"Most people believe only acts of dangerous driving cause fatal crashes," he said.

"Nothing could be further from the truth.

"It is the small things like answering the phone, being a few kilometres over the speed limit, a bad lane change or simple impatience.

"The next time you speed a little bit with your child in the car, I beg of you to think that he or she has 11 more years of watching you 'just speeding' before they too start driving and 'start speeding'."

He said more than 3000 speeding tickets had been issued in the north coast region since December 19 last year,