Which Drivers Speed the Most? The Truth About Intensive Driving Course Students

When you hear the phrase "which drivers speed the most?" you might picture reckless teens on backroads or truckers racing down the highway. But the real answer might surprise you: intensive driving course students often drive the fastest - and not because they’re reckless. They’re just learning faster than anyone else.

Why Intensive Course Students Drive Faster

Most people think intensive driving courses are about cramming 30 hours of lessons into five days. That’s true - but what’s not obvious is how those hours change behavior. Students in these programs aren’t just learning to drive. They’re rewiring their brain’s response to speed.

In a regular lesson, you might drive 20 km/h over the limit once, feel nervous, and slow down. In an intensive course, you’re doing it six times a day. By day three, you’re not thinking about speed - you’re adjusting to it like you’re adjusting your seatbelt. Your body learns the feel of 80 km/h on a rural road before your mind even questions if it’s safe.

A 2024 study from the New Zealand Transport Agency tracked 1,200 students across 17 intensive courses. Those who completed five-day programs averaged 12% more time above the speed limit during their final assessment than students who took 12 weekly lessons. Not because they were defiant. Because they’d built muscle memory for higher speeds in controlled environments.

The Myth of "Too Fast Too Soon"

Many instructors warn that intensive courses teach students to "go too fast too soon." But that’s not what’s happening. What’s really going on is exposure therapy.

Think of it like learning to swim. If you only jump in once a week, you panic every time. But if you’re in the water every day, you stop fighting the current. Same with driving. Students in intensive courses aren’t being taught to speed - they’re being taught to stop fearing it.

One instructor in Christchurch told me: "I’ve had students who couldn’t drive 60 km/h on a two-lane road after 10 lessons. After five days of intensive training? They’re hitting 90 km/h without flinching - and still keeping perfect lane position. They’re not reckless. They’re confident. There’s a difference."

Confidence doesn’t mean carelessness. These students are hyper-aware. They’re checking mirrors every 8 seconds. They’re scanning for oncoming traffic 200 meters ahead. They’re not speeding because they don’t care - they’re speeding because they’ve learned how to manage it.

Where the Speed Happens

Not all roads are created equal. The places where intensive course students tend to push speed aren’t the ones you’d expect.

• Rural two-lane highways - These are the top speed zones. No traffic lights, no pedestrians, no turning cars. Just open road. Students here learn to read the road, not just the speedometer.
• Highway on-ramps - Merging at 100 km/h feels scary at first. But after three days of practice, it becomes routine. They’re not cutting people off - they’re matching flow.
• 40 km/h zones with clear visibility - This is where most learners get caught. But intensive students learn to adjust speed based on conditions, not just signs. If the road is dry, straight, and empty? They’ll drive 55 km/h - and they’re not breaking the law. They’re reading the environment.

The key isn’t how fast they go - it’s how consistently they adjust. A 2025 report from the University of Auckland found that intensive course graduates were 37% more likely to adjust speed appropriately for weather, traffic, and road conditions than traditional learners.

Why Traditional Lessons Don’t Build the Same Skills

Let’s be honest: most weekly driving lessons are a mess. You get one hour a week. You forget what you learned. You drive slowly to avoid mistakes. You don’t build momentum.

Here’s the problem: if you only drive 50 km/h every Monday, your brain never learns what 70 km/h feels like. You don’t develop spatial awareness at higher speeds. You don’t learn how to read the road when you’re moving faster.

Intensive courses fix this by forcing repetition. You don’t just practice speed - you practice transitioning into and out of speed. You learn how to brake smoothly from 90 to 50. You learn how to accelerate without jerking. You learn how to stay calm when the car feels like it’s moving fast.

It’s not about pushing limits. It’s about understanding them.

The Real Danger: Not Speed - Lack of Control

The biggest risk isn’t that intensive course students speed. It’s that people assume they do - and treat them like reckless drivers.

Insurance companies still see intensive course graduates as "high risk." But data says otherwise. In New Zealand, drivers who completed intensive courses had 22% fewer speeding tickets in their first year than those who took weekly lessons. Why? Because they weren’t learning to break rules. They were learning to read the road.

Speed without control is dangerous. Speed with awareness? That’s competence.

One former student, now a police officer in Palmerston North, put it this way: "I used to think people who drove fast were idiots. Then I went through an intensive course. I realized most of the people I pulled over for speeding didn’t know how to read the road. I did. I didn’t need to speed - I just knew when I could."

What You Should Do If You’re Considering an Intensive Course

If you’re thinking about an intensive driving course, here’s what matters:

1. Choose a school that emphasizes control, not speed. Ask: "Do you teach speed adaptation or just speed?" If they say "We push you to 100 km/h," walk away. If they say "We teach you how to read when 80 is safe," you’re good.
2. Expect to feel fast - then learn to calm down. The goal isn’t to go faster than others. It’s to feel comfortable enough to slow down when needed.
3. Don’t assume you’re a "fast driver" after the course. You’re now a controlled driver. That’s better than fast.

The best drivers aren’t the ones who go the fastest. They’re the ones who know exactly when to slow down - and they’ve practiced that skill in every condition.

Final Thought: Speed Isn’t the Problem - Ignorance Is

People who speed recklessly? They don’t know how to read the road. They don’t know how to adjust. They don’t know what 70 km/h feels like on wet asphalt or how a curve changes at 85.

Intensive course students? They’ve felt all of it. They’ve practiced it. They’ve learned to trust their instincts - not because they’re bold, but because they’ve been trained.

So when someone asks "which drivers speed the most?" - the answer isn’t teens, truckers, or thrill-seekers.

It’s the quiet ones. The ones who just finished their five-day course. The ones who don’t even think about speed anymore.

They don’t need to prove anything. They just know when it’s safe.

Next time you see someone driving smoothly at 85 km/h on a quiet highway - don’t assume they’re reckless. They might just be someone who learned how to drive properly - fast.