Northland speed limit may decrease
A proposed new speed management guide could see speed limits lowered on some Northland roads.
Last week Associate Transport Minister Craig Foss announced the Government had given the thumbs up to increasing the speed limit to 110kmh on some NZ roads.
The strict guide conditions however would not only eliminate any current Northland road from qualifying for the increased limit, but also allow road controlling authorities to decrease limits where they felt necessary.
Chairman of Roadsafe Northland John Williamson says many motorists still travelled faster than the road conditions allowed and it made sense to reduce speed limits where deemed appropriate.
He says there are already a number of communities in North- land who want road safety authorities to put speed reductions in place in their area.
The guide information would help communities ‘‘initiate conversation’ with their controlling authorities to decide where and when to make safety improvements or changes to speed limits, Williamson says.
To be eligible for a 110kmh limit, roads would have to have a median barrier, at least two lanes in each direction and no direct access to neighbouring properties.
The NZ Transport Agency will be responsible for approving these roads.
It has already identified 155km of highway across Auckland, Tauranga and Waikato that would be suitable subject to minor treatments and is investigating a further 222kms around the country.
The public can have its say on the proposed changes. Consul- tation will begin in early 2017 and run for six weeks.
Foss is confident a 110kmh limit would not contradict the safety message the Government and police had been pushing for some time.
In 2015, speeding was a contributing factor in 93 fatal crashes, 410 serious injury crashes and 1286 minor injury crashes, which resulted in 101 deaths, 496 serious injuries, and 1831 minor injuries.
What do you think? Email jenny.ling@fairfaxmedia.co.nz