19 July 2008

It's started, the campaign to remove 130km/h.  The answer, of course, is to replace 130km/h with (//) zones.

A road safety expert says speed limits in the Northern Territory are still too high.

The Northern Territory road toll for the year stands at 37, which is 15 more than at the same time last year.

Professor Brian Fildes is from the Monash University Accident Research Centre.

He told the ABC's Stateline program the decision to reduce the speed limit to 130 kilometres per hour has not gone far enough.

"130kph is still well above what Ausroads, the national peak body, would recommend even for freeways," he said.

"If it is a two-lane undivided road, as many of our highways are, the standards call for 100 kilometres an hour. And quiet frankly we have been pushing to get the speeds even lower than that."

www.KeepNTLimitFree.org will request a write of reply to set the record straight.

Enough of this stupidly, as only MORE people will SADLY DIE. 

The FACTS speak for themselves, since implementing a 130kmph speed limit (+ their other rules) has after 1.5 years STATISTICALLY INCREASED THE NUMBER OF DEATHS ON NT ROADS.

We have the EVIDENCE to back up this FACT.

So help us and spread the word through any forums, discussion groups etc

Sadly fatigue is a major factor in open road accidents as noted in the NT Road Safety Taskforce Report 2006.

FATIGUE, not speed, is the leading cause of car crashes, according to detailed new Mercedes-Benz research which is backed up by the US insurance body the American National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

By lowering the speed limit on vast expanses of the Northern Territory’s open roads you indirectly increase fatigue.

For the record it should be noted that the Northern Territory had the lowest speed related fatalities in Australia of only 17% compared to 40% in NSW and 30% in Victoria.

Also Dr Chris Burns MLA Minister for transport and Infrastructure on the 18^th of November 2004 stated that “It has been shown that excessive speed is not the dominant factor in the Territory’ road toll.  Rather, it’s a combination of alcohol and a failure to wear passenger restraints that is the root cause of most fatalities on Territory roads.”

And NT Chief Minister Clare Martin supported open-speed highways as late as the 6^th of October 2004

The FACTS speak for themselves, since implementing a 130kmph speed limit (+ vast array of  other rules) has after 1.5 years STATISTICALLY INCREASED THE NUMBER OF DEATHS ON NT ROADS.