Australia’s governments should leave rural speed limits alone. Instead, they should improve safety by fixing black spots and spending more on road upgrades and maintenance, the ATA submission in response to the Australian Government infrastructure department’s consultation paper on reducing default speed limits outside built-up areas says.
The preferred option in the consultation paper would reduce the speed limit where there are no signs to 80 km/h. In most states, the default speed limit outside built-up areas is 100 km/h.
The submission argues that there are better options for improving road safety than reducing default speed limits and urges the Australian Government should spend more on road upgrades and maintenance.
This would support the industry’s productivity, reduce maintenance costs and improve the resilience of the road system as Australia’s climate gets worse.
The submission warns that the productivity impact of reducing the speed limit would be significant and is understated in the paper.