The police's "confusing" zero tolerance stance on speeding is to be reviewed, Police Minister Michael Woodhouse says.

He has asked police to review all of the public messages it put out as part of the 2014/15 summer road safety campaign.

On November 28, police kicked off the campaign by saying anyone exceeding the speed limit over summer could expect to be pulled over.

There would still be a 4kmh tolerance on fixed speed cameras, they said, but their message that offficers would have a zero tolerance to speeding was met with public backlash.

The policy was continuing the work police had done the year before, when it reduced the speed tolerance from 9kmh to 4kmh for the summer period.

Road deaths were reduced that summer but ticketing revenue also increased by $5 million.

Last week, critics labelled the zero-speed-tolerance campaign a failure as the holiday road toll topped 17, more than double last year's.

Woodhouse said yesterday that while he supported police's zero tolerance to poor driving behaviour, discretion was needed when it came to speeding.

"While I firmly support police's zero tolerance for poor driving behaviour that can lead to death and injury on our roads, I also support the application of discretion as articulated in the 4kmh summer tolerance used in fixed speed cameras and the vast majority of mobile devices.

"I have received considerable public feedback that the speed tolerance message was confusing which has led to some strong public opinions."

Woodhouse said he wanted to ensure police messages remained clear and did not confuse the public, as this campaign had.

"That is why I have asked that review be completed in time for any changes to be made before the Easter holiday period.

"While this is very much an operational matter for police, I will be taking a close interest in ensuring the message about road safety is clear and unambiguous.

"It is important that the police and public work together to ensure our roads are a safe place to be, especially over the summer while there are more people on the road."