110 km/hr speed limit?

Michael Forbes at Stuff reports:

Speed limits should be bumped up to 110kmh on the newest and safest roads, the Automobile Association says – and the Government is not ruling out the idea.

The suggestion comes as the Government announces it will review speed limits up and down the country over the next three years as part of its Safer Journeys action plan.

Associate Transport Minister Michael Woodhouse would not rule out increasing the 100kmh maximum speed limit as part of the review, but he felt such a move was unlikely to happen soon. Police say they are open to discussion.

AA motoring affairs general manager Mike Noon said nudging up the speed limit by 10kmh on some roads could reduce congestion and improve productivity by ensuring the quicker movement of freight.

The type of road best suited to a 110kmh limit would be divided, four-lane motorways that have been built to KiwiRap four-star status, such as the northern gateway toll road north of Auckland.

This seems very sensible to me, and I’m glad the Government is not ruling it out.

I recall the open road limit going from 80 to 100, and that was a good thing.

Since then car technology and safety has improved significantly, as have the quality of some of the new roads. The idea of having it apply only on our best safest motorways also seems sensible. It is obvious to me that there are some roads where it is quite safe to drive at 110 km/hr – there are also some roads where you are a lunatic if you drive at over 70 km/hr even though the legal limit is 110 km/hr.

The speed you drive at should always be dependent on the conditions and may change from minute to minute.

New Zealand has one of the strictest speed regimes. Australia, Canada and France all have motorway limits of 110kmh, while Britain’s is 70mph, or about 113kmh.

Yep, NZ is one of the lowest.

On Germany’s autobahns, there are no speed limits, although drivers are advised to stay under 130kmh.

And Austria!