WHEN art and tragedy collide, an important road safety message hits home.

Adelaide body painter Emma Hack took 18 hours to create her latest masterpiece, which uses 17 men and women to illustrate the dangers and trauma caused by speeding drivers.

The stunning piece of art was the brainchild of advertising agency Clemenger BBDO Adelaide and part of the Motor Accident Commission's new campaign, launched yesterday, targeting low-level speeders.

Ms Hack said she treated the project - which required up to five layers of paint on her subjects' bodies - like a puzzle, to create an alternative road safety message.

"Technically, it's probably the most difficult job I have ever done. It's quite magical how it's turned out."

Ms Hack gained global recognition for her work when she painted singers Gotye and Kimbra for the video of his hit song Somebody That I Used to Know.

Police statistics show 38 per cent of expiation notices issued last year were for speeding less than 10km/h over the limit, while 79 per cent were issued for speeding less than 15km/h over the limit.

Motor Accident Commission chief Jerome Maguire said: "The community thinks that 5km/h, 10km/h, 15km/h over the limit is almost acceptable so long as you don't get caught.

"The fact is that 10km/h over the limit is almost equivalent to a 0.10 blood-alcohol content."

Mother Melissa Williams knows first-hand the effects of speeding, after the death of her son, Dillon, in 2009.

Dillon was travelling at high speed when his motorbike slammed into a white Commodore sedan on Heaslip Rd, Angle Vale.

Ms Williams pleaded with other motorists to slow down to avoid the devastation that families of crash victims must face.

"It's not cool to go over the limit. It's not cool to bury your cousin or friend," she said.