Nt Speed Limits: 130kms From Jan 07

[Kimberley Scott]

Mate when fuel is 20c a litre dearer at threeways than it is Darwin, let alone the rest of the country, fuel effiecny is a mute point.

There are not the resources up in the NT for people to sit on 130km/h for a safe amount of time then pull over into a motel. It does just not exist.

For those in the defence, you will understand DHA gives you allownaces to drive and stay in motels. A member of my unit was given (due to special needs) a maximum distance to drive a day of 300km. Now there is no way he can do that unless he intends to camp on the side of the road, even a distance of 600km is difficult to do.

It is a bloody big place, hence the requirement for increased spped limits.

Scotty

[NT TURBO]

Most acco's up here (48%) are alcohol related, most acco's happen in speed limited zone, 4 died on the same 80 kphr stretch of road, this law wont change anything. And I bet if the road toll increases it'll be blamed on something else.

Gone is the cannonball, 9 mil in income from porcshe and other manufacturers testing here, and the present government.

Lots of ppl in Alice including politicians are pissed off with this as am I. The ppl who changed this law arent affected cause they fly down south anyway.

rant off

Mick

[Kimberley Scott]

Vote them out and restore the balance.

Or is it to late?

Scotty

[Iconic Bionic]

This is terrible. Now all we have left is the autobahn in Germany.

[sixfan]

  XXXR6T said:

Why does the NT NEED open speed limits over all other states?

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Wrong question

Ask why they're needed in SA and remote WA.

Ask why the open limit is being blamed for a high road toll, when most of the deaths occur in restricted zones

Ask why there's STILL NO mandatory loss of licence for DUI in the NT

Ask why these laws have been foisted upon us with NO consultation.

If you like 110, drive at 110, an open limit doesn't force you to go any faster.

If you like living in a nanny society and not accepting that you're responsible for your own actions, fine by me.

If you like speed limits in your state, stay there.

The libs are running for the next election on a policy of returning the derestriction.

Whether they will, who knows...But guess who I'll be voteing for.

[Paradoxx]

There's plenty of reasons why I dont live in the NT.

If you read my original post I didnt say I agreed with it, but there's no point whinging about it. I sat at 140 the whole way across the nullabor from just outside adelaide til I got to southern cross... not a single cop until southern cross. It was a good balance between economy and speed. If those limits were 130 I would have sat at 130 and avoided the fine I got.

And DHA gives you allowances to drive, but who is to say you are going to follow those guidelines? I was supposed to take 7 days to drive across australia. It took me almost 4 days of driving in daylight only, and I had a few days off. I stayed in the best hotels I could find.

[Evil F6]

  XXXR6T said:

That would be a good idea... I would be happy if they simply increase the WA freeway speeds to 110.

If you look at it this way, you are being forced to drive your car more economically and save on fuel

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Can someone explain how Europe with 20x the density of people allows freewway limits from ~130-150 or unlimited and yet their roads tolls per capita are similar. Only the stinking poms have it just like us 70mp/h or 112km/h freeway limit. Despite our cars being a quantum leap safer than those 50 years ago, we have lower limits now than then. The reason we have them so low is to maximise profit for the government. The limits defy all logic and are set at the lowest 15% of the bell curve. I mean for fark sakes in Pigtoria they are nearly all only 100 on the freeway except for the Hume, which they want to put cameras from Melbourne to Albury. Driving at 100-110 is so mind numbing it's actually dangerous. Only at 130 do start to become fully alert. Our roads are engineered to easily sustain 150+, but they would have to actually educate us how to drive and god forbid how much revenue would that cost them.

The NT roads are dead boring and even 130 will put you to sleep. It's bad enough driving across the Hay plains at 130 and still they have the nerve to patrol it. The Police and government are total knobs andare not the least bit interested in road safety. We should be able to launch a class action suit against them for gross incompetence.

[tmac450]

It's simply another case of Government avoiding the real issues.

Just look at the water problems we have in Sydney. We are running on a system built in the 50s for less than 1/2 the current population. The pipes leak over 50 Olympic swimming pools worth every day, yet they go unfixed. Councils and Government are approving new developments ib the tens of thousands, yet water storage isn't compulsory.

In the meantime the public are the ones forced to reduce consumption and pay fines if we're caught breaking restrictions. This means the Govt can continue to rake in money on new development, but spend nothing on resources. Our electricity supply isn't far behind the water.

As long as we continue to accept and vote in imbeciles to run the country, we'll get idiotic decisions. Why are state governments even needed anyway? We're over taxed, over governed and under resourced.

[EvilDaifu]

Well, was thinking of taking in a cruise up to the NT and part of the attraction was the unrestricted speed limit. Still a lot to see there though.

[Dagabond]

  Quote

Testers retreat from NT speed limits

Robert Wilson

SPEED limits to be introduced on Northern Territory roads next year will slam the brakes on an international car testing industry estimated to be worth $9 million.

Car-makers from all over the world flock to the NT for its combination of unrestricted roads and hot weather, but many will abandon their testing programs when the 130km/h speed limit comes into effect from January.

Holden, Toyota and Ford Performance Vehicles will cease or prune their NT testing programs, and sportscar specialist Porsche is expected to relocate to South Africa.

Territory businesses say accommodation, transport and security services will suffer.

"From our point of view speed limits will have a huge effect on the testing business and our members stand to lose millions," NT chamber of commerce chief executive Chris Young said.

The testing season from October to April coincides with the low point for tourist numbers, Mr Young said, and the regulation would cost $6 million to $9 million a year in lost revenue.

"There can be up to 15 engineering teams testing out between Alice Springs and Tennant Creek during the summer and the wet," he said. "When they arrive they need accommodation for up to 20 people in each team, warehouse facilities, rental cars and secure car transporters.

"They provide very welcome business at a time when the wet season in the Top End and the summer in the centre keeps most of the tourists away."

Central Australian Tourism Industry Association general manager Craig Catchlove said the limit could cost businesses in Alice Springs alone about $1 million over the summer.

"We don't believe the speed limit will reduce the number of tourist accidents, but we do think it will have a significant economic impact" he said. "Our best estimate is about $1 million, which is significant in a place the size of Alice Springs."

Porsche spokesman Paul Ellis said the German maker had used the Territory's roads for more than 20 years, but management was evaluating the change and future testing in the NT was unlikely.

"We would comply with all regulations and if driving faster than 130km/h was prohibited we wouldn't do it," he said. South Africa was favourite to pick up the business.

Toyota manager of vehicle evaluation Mina Rezk said high-speed testing might now be conducted in the Middle East.

"A major market for Camry is the Gulf region which is a high-speed, high temperature environment," he said. "One requirement in testing Camry was to maintain high speeds in high temperatures with the airconditioning on, to put a full load on the cooling system. We will not be able to do that as we used to, but we have to respect the law."

Mr Rezk said the company would still use the Territory for dust and off-road testing.

Ford Performance Vehicles spokesman Steve Colquhoun said FPV would be "impacted by the NT Government's decision" and would "reassess our test procedures".

Holden spokeswoman Maya Donevska said Territory highways had been invaluable for high-speed hot weather testing the new VE Commodore, but the company would look elsewhere. "Holden will explore alternative locations for testing, and in the interim will use the proving ground facility at Lang Lang."

Mercedes-Benz spokesman David McCarthy said the NT had made Australia attractive for testing and local buyers had benefited. "When German engineers came to the Northern Territory they left with an understanding of Australian conditions," he said.

Ford spokesman Andrew Ellis said the company's recent decision to expand its testing facilities in Victoria meant it could minimise the effect of the speed limit.

A new laboratory at Ford's Victorian testing ground could replicate conditions ranging from -40C to +55C and generate wind speeds up to 250km/h, he said.

"The new environmental facility will go online sometime next year, eliminating the need to travel to the NT for high-speed hot weather testing."

Pollies with there head in there ....