Lower maximum speed limits and an overhaul of speeding fines have been flagged, with the South Australian Government keen for penalties to more accurately reflect the severity of road offences.

As part of a new South Australian road safety strategy, maximum speed limits on rural roads are likely to be reduced from 110 kilometres per hour to 100 kph.

There also would be more 50 kph limits for suburban roads.

The state's Road Safety Minister Tom Kenyon says a review of speeding fines could result in more demerit points being applied to the most serious offences.

He says the South Australian Government's target is to cut the state's annual road toll by at least 30 per cent by the end of the decade.

Road safety advisor to the SA Government Sir Eric Neal says the fines regime needs to change.

"I think you have to distinguish between someone who inadvertently drives at above 5 kph above the speed limit or 8 kph above the speed limit [that] might be a minor fine, but if somebody's driving at 50 kph above the limit in a 50 zone or a 60 zone then that's deliberate and they should be hit with a pretty hefty fine," he said.

SA Farmers Federation president Peter White says cutting the maximum speed limit on country roads is not the way to improve safety.

He says better roads are needed and the Government should put money into improvements.

"Is it the best way or is it an easy cop-out just to cut the speed limit to try and make those roads safer than actually fix the roads?" he asked.

"Sooner or later you've got to fix the roads.

"Certainly there are some roads at the moment where you can do 80 or 90 kph or whatever that are in a shocking state and yet we've got some really good roads and they're proposing we only do 100 on those - it just doesn't seem to add up very well."

A former country MP Graham Gunn long campaigned to increase speed limits in some regional areas.

He says the latest speed limits plan will be despised by many country people.

He argues it could create more danger on the roads due to fatigue from longer travel times.

"Country people will be absolutely appalled and this will be nothing more than a revenue measure," he said.

"It's about time a small dose of common sense was applied to public decision-making."