New Zealand Transport Agency staff have broken speed limits on thousands of occasions.

The Herald revealed today that NZTA staff have been caught speeding 8,500 times in nine months - and none were ticketed.

It's made Transport Minister Simon Bridges angry.

He said road safety is a government priority and he would expect the agency to lead by example - which has clearly not been the case.

Labour MP Phil Twyford has also said plenty of Kiwis break the rules from time to time, but we face the consequences.

He said government officials, whose job it is to design and run road safety, including speed limits, need to follow the rules.

"I think for government officials who's job it is to design and manage and run the system for road safety including speed limits, they need to follow the rules."