Vroom vroom

[Julian2]

Top End speed grump

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Territorians are not happy about planned restrictions on their unlimited highways. It seems that driving at under 120km/h sends them to sleep. Paul Toohey reports.

One of the great road anomalies of Australia, and indeed the world, is set to change. The Northern Territoryâ??s dearly beloved speed-unlimited highways â?? where drivers really are allowed to go as fast as they like, so long as theyâ??re not drunk and are more or less staying on the road â?? are likely to be hit with 110km/h restrictions.

 

This will hurt Territorians â?? not to mention southerners who come up to see if the makers of the Lamborghini Countach are telling the truth about its top speed â?? but itâ??s inevitable. Thereâ??s little that those waging a war against the government can do, even if the Territory-based www.no-speedlimit.com propaganda unit claims that the move will bring the government down.

It writes: "NT residents who regularly drive from Darwin to Alice at anything under 120km/h complain that they get drowsy and are less alert than at the 140km/h speed that they [usually] travel at."

 

The government has done a study on the Lasseter Highway, which runs from the Stuart Highway through to Yulara. That road has a big traffic of foreigners in hire cars going out to see The Rock. In December 2001, a 110km/h restriction was put on the Lasseter. The government has compared the four years prior to 2001, when there was no limit, to the next four. It found total crashes reduced by 33%; fatalities reduced by 37%; serious injuries reduced by 44%; and total injuries reduced by 40%.

 

Blame the foreigners, certainly, but those statistics are hard to ignore. Expect the laws to be introduced within months. For anyone who has never known the joy of legally overtaking a police car at 180km/h, it seems you never will.

 

[exileexpat]

Hopefully it will stop those road trains. They scared the shit out me at the size and speeds they would pass me at.