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Highway speed limits

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Diesel:
Of course I can only generalise here as it may be safe to do 150km/h on the Newcastle Expressway but only 100km/h around Kempsey etc... so assume the 130km/h in the poll is the new MAXIMUM state limit with other areas sign posted lower commensurate with road conditions.

But the general gist is - are the speed limits set a little low for such a large country with next to no traffic (compared to Europe / Asia / USA)?

Or will the increase in speed also increase the number of fatalities?

There has been a lot of debate about this in the media both for and against with statistics that support either argument.

Personally - I think 130km/h on a lot of roads is safe at certain times of day and in good conditions, but I wouldn't like to see instances of 'wankers in Commodores' sitting right up the clacker of an older couple, pushing them along and getting frustrated, when the older couple are only comfortable doing 100-110 - you see?

Also - 130km/h is a lot safer in a newer car with ABS and other driver aids (Falcon XR-6, SS Commodore), than it is in the clapped out old Datto 120Y.

What do you reckon?

EDIT: I remember seeing in Tassie, speed signs that read something like:   Speed Limit: 90km/h in daylight, 60km/h at night.    <------- to do with the abundance of nocturnal wildlife.

alans1100:
I don't think any speed limit is inherently unsafe. Just some people just don't know what to do if they get into trouble or they'll drive at maximum limit regardless of road conditions.

If I'm on my own and the risk is minimal of getting caught I'll open it up to to around 130-140kph. But on tour towing the trailer I'm quite happy on about 90 -100kph (100kph is the max limit towing a trailer in WA). Sometimes I think it's quite funny, I can sit all day on 90kph and have the same people pass me two or three times.

NT has a 130kph but I wouldn't want to sit on it at night. When I was in WA there was talk of raising the limit to 130kph on some roads but I don't think anything come of it.

Dan:
Big country, little traffic = raise the limits IMHO. 

IMHO speed isn't the real problem, crap drivers are.  Make the driving test tougher, and limit the cars that young/new drivers can drive.  Teenagers + 4.0 V6 = trouble regardless of the speed limit.

saaz:
I am for raising, but with more emphasis on getting rid of those drivers who are unsafe even at 100kph.  Any road with a hint of a curve or no double lane and many can't even sit on 100kph or 110kph.

Whizz:
I find it fascinating that every public holiday the road carnage figures are released, and the pundits all tells us that 'Speed Kills" (what a crock!), but regularly the one state (territory?) with zero deaths is the Northern Territory.

Clarkson and his mob on Top Gear have regularly reported on the number of speed cameras in UK and how installing them in new areas, or increasing the numbers in other areas, actually increases the death toll. Probably because drivers spend far more time gazing at their speedometers than at the actual road in front of them.

Lastly, why are the Warrego  and Cunningham Highways 100Kph limits when they are simple two lane roads, (and in some places just normal roads) when the new Ipswich Motorway which is 3 or 4 lanes in each direction in places, and is new, smooth tarmac, limited to 80 or 90? (and I don't mean the bits still under construction, I mean the finished bits).  There really doesn't seem to be much sense in our road rules, does there?

By the way, I vote to increase the limit to 130 in places where this is safe but limit the maximum speed that young drivers can travel at by the mandatory installation of speed limiters. Max speed to be increased over time as experience increases. I sometime think that the engine management units in some of the newer cars have a higher IQ than some of the boof-heads behind the wheel!

My 5 cents worth

Whizz

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