More than 500 drivers on average were prosecuted for speeding every day last year, with those driving more than 15 to 30km/h over the legal limit surging by 19 per cent. Although the total figure of 183,215 prosecutions for speeding offences last year represents a 7.9 per cent drop from the previous year, most of the decline was reported in the category of motorists who violated speed limits by 15km/h or less, with 60,897 prosecutions. Most of the violations last year were in the 15 to 30km/h category, with 111,431 prosecutions - 18.9 per cent more than the previous year. A further 9,921 prosecutions involved speeding by more than 30 to 45km/h over the allowed limit, about 8 per cent more than the year before. Prosecutions for speeding by more than 45km/h dropped 9 per cent to 966 last year. Speeding caused 510 traffic accidents last year, 10 per cent more than 2002. A police spokesman said a review found that driving too fast was among the top 10 factors contributing to the 173 fatal traffic accidents last year. The other factors included losing control, improper or illegal turns, starting or reversing negligently, careless lane changing, emerging from side roads negligently, driving too close to the vehicle in front or on the wrong side of the road, and improper overtaking. The spokesman said the force would work to ensure traffic offenders received the penalty they deserved. 'Police have been monitoring the results of traffic prosecution and will have no hesitation in seeking assistance from the Department of Justice to ensure the sentence of every prosecution will truly reflect the seriousness of its facts,' the spokesman said. He said the police's ability to deter speeding would be greatly enhanced following the expansion of the speed enforcement system this month. Under the extended system, the number of enforcement sites will be increased from 10 to 85. Police statistics also showed the percentage of breathalysed drivers found to have results exceeding the legal limit surged from 2.9 per cent in 2002 to 3.4 per cent last year. The percentage for the first quarter of this year was 3.3 per cent. Drink-driving led to three fatal traffic accidents and a further 33 accidents with serious injuries last year, compared with only one and 22 such cases respectively in 2002. The force will step up a road safety campaign by demanding that drivers suspected of drinking take a breath test, even if they have not been involved in an accident. Although police are already empowered to test any driver thought to have been drinking, in practice only those involved in road accidents are currently tested.