See your average speed, live.
NZ's average-speed cameras time you between two points. PaceMate shows how you're tracking the whole way, so you can just drive.
What is PaceMate? PaceMate is an Android app that shows your live average speed through New Zealand's average-speed camera zones. It is not a speed camera detector.
Comfortably under pace
Keep driving normally
An example drive through the Sanson ↔ Foxton zone on SH1.
The problem
The camera counts the whole zone, not one spot
Average-speed cameras time you between two points. Enforcement is based on the average, not your speed at one spot.
Overtaking, hills and changes of limit all feed into one running average that your dash never shows.
NZTA now manages average speed cameras across all 19 zones in PaceMate. NZTA cites crash reductions of 20 to 50% on routes where average speed cameras are introduced (NZTA, rollout release).
Why isn't my speedo enough?
Speedos are allowed to be wrong
Your speedo can show 114 when you are really doing 100. That is legal: speedos are allowed to read high.
Driven Car GuidePaceMate uses GPS speed and your running average, so you see where you stand.
What changes
What changes with PaceMate?
Without PaceMate
- Watch a speedo that may read high
- Guess your average in your head
- Wonder if the hill or the overtake cost you
- Find out later, if at all
With PaceMate
- One big number: seconds under or over
- Green means carry on. Red means ease off
- It's on your lock screen too
- Your result at the exit gate
How it works
How does PaceMate work? Four moments on every zone
- 750 M OUTHeads-upAn alert tells you a zone is ahead.
- ENTRY GATETiming startsOpen PaceMate before you drive, or tap the alert.
- THROUGH THE ZONELive marginSeconds under or over pace, on screen and in the notification.
- EXIT GATEYour resultAverage speed, time, and whether you were within.
On your lock screen
A Live Update on Android 16. A colour-coded ongoing notification on earlier versions.
Your result
Every trip is saved with its result in your history.
Knows the zones
Gates, distances and limits come from NZ Gazette notices. That includes mixed-limit zones like Kingston ↔ Lowther on SH6, which runs through 80 and 100 km/h sections with a gazetted average limit of 99 km/h.
Starting a trip: open PaceMate before you drive and it starts timing at the entry gate. If the app is closed, tap the approach alert (or have a passenger tap it) to start. Fully automatic tracking with the app closed is not in the alpha yet.
Android alpha: people are invited in batches from a waitlist into the Android beta on Google Play. Android only for now. iPhone sign-ups are recorded as demand only.
Coverage
We cover all average speed camera zones
PaceMate covers 19 official average-speed camera zones in New Zealand, in both directions, listed here from north to south.
- Kaitaia-Awaroa Road East 3.5 km · 80 km/h average limit · quickest legal time 2:39
- Kaitaia-Awaroa Road Central 1.9 km · 61 km/h average limit · quickest legal time 1:54
- Kaitaia-Awaroa Road West 5.2 km · 80 km/h average limit · quickest legal time 3:56
- Warkworth ↔ Matakana 4.9 km · 80 km/h limit · quickest legal time 3:41
- Dairy Flat 2.9 km · 80 km/h limit · quickest legal time 2:10
- Waitoki ↔ Dairy Flat 6.7 km · 80 km/h limit · quickest legal time 5:03
- Redvale 3.0 km · 80 km/h limit · quickest legal time 2:18
- Shamrock Park ↔ Whitford 4.2 km · 60 km/h limit · quickest legal time 4:11
- Glenbrook Road East 6.6 km · 80 km/h limit · quickest legal time 4:56
- Glenbrook Road West 2.7 km · 80 km/h limit · quickest legal time 2:02
- Pokeno ↔ Mangatawhiri 6.8 km · 90 km/h limit · quickest legal time 4:32
- Pukehina ↔ Matatā 12.5 km · 100 km/h limit · quickest legal time 7:30
- Whakarewarewa ↔ Waimangu 18.4 km · 100 km/h limit · quickest legal time 11:04
- Pakipaki ↔ Te Hauke 12.7 km · 100 km/h limit · quickest legal time 7:38
- Sanson ↔ Foxton 27.4 km · 100 km/h limit · quickest legal time 16:27
- Tekapo ↔ Simon's Pass 25.5 km · 100 km/h limit · quickest legal time 15:19
- Pukaki 5.0 km · 100 km/h limit · quickest legal time 3:01
- Kingston ↔ Lowther 45.7 km · 99 km/h average limit · quickest legal time 27:47
- Allanton ↔ Waihola 16.7 km · 99 km/h average limit · quickest legal time 10:10
The alpha also includes one PaceMate test route (Queens Drive, Invercargill) used for field testing. It is not a camera zone.
Privacy
Your location has one job
PaceMate uses your location to notice when you're approaching a zone and to time your pace through it. It asks for background location so the approach alert can reach you when PaceMate isn't on screen, and so timing keeps going with your screen off once a trip has started.
- Your pace is calculated on your phone. Your live location is never sent anywhere.
- Only your completed trip results (zone, times and average speed) are saved to your account, never a trail of where you've been.
- We never sell your data.
The full detail is in the privacy policy.
Early access
How do I get an invite?
We invite people in batches, zone by zone, into the beta test on Google Play. Pick your road above and it goes first in line.
You're on the list
- Phone
- Closest zone
- Drives per week
PaceMate is Android-only for now. We'll let you know if an iPhone version is built.
What happens next
- We invite people in batches, zone by zone.
- When it's your turn we'll email you about joining the Android beta test on Google Play.
- If the email you use for Google Play is different, reply to that email and tell us which one to use.
You've already joined from this browser.
We only email you about your invite. See the privacy policy for what we keep and how to be removed.
Frequently asked questions
What is an average-speed zone?
A stretch of road where cameras time you between two points. Enforcement is based on your average over that stretch, not your speed at one spot.
Why can't I just watch my speedo?
Your speedo only shows this second, and speedos are allowed to read high. Overtaking, hills and limit changes all feed into an average you can't see.
Is it a camera detector?
No. PaceMate only knows the officially published zones. It helps you keep a steady, legal average.
Can I rely on it to stay under the limit?
No. GPS can be inaccurate and PaceMate can't guarantee your average. Always obey the signed limit and drive to the conditions.
Does it work with the app closed?
Partly, for now. You still get the approach alert, and tapping it starts tracking. Or open PaceMate before you set off and it starts timing at the entry gate. Fully automatic tracking with the app closed isn't in the alpha yet.
Which phones does it support?
Android only for now. On Android 16 the live pace shows as a Live Update. On earlier versions it's a colour-coded ongoing notification. iPhone sign-ups are recorded as demand only.
What happens to my data?
Pace is worked out on your phone and your live location is never sent anywhere. Only finished trip results are saved to your account. We never sell your data.
Sources
- Driven Car Guide, Why does my speedo read higher than roadside monitors?
- NZ Herald, Gauging the true accuracy of speedometers
- NZTA, Average speed safety cameras
- NZTA, Average speed safety cameras to be rolled out across the country
- NZTA, Safety camera notices and penalties
PaceMate is a pace-awareness aid, not a legal or safety guarantee. GPS readings can be inaccurate. Always obey the signed speed limit and drive to the conditions; you are responsible for how you drive. Only use your phone when it's safe and legal to do so.