NT Now Got Speed Limits

[Nem]

Its sad times we live in with them bowing to federal funding pressure and introducing speed limits up here. It was all to do with the whole speed kills and us having an average 4 times the national. But the stupid thing is that most of the road toll didn't happen on those stretches where it was open season. It was in suburbia where drunk clowns were doing 120 in a 70 zone and then wrapping themselves around a power pole. Oh well RIP open speed limits. No more driving to Katherine @ 170km/hr for me. :(

Ben

[MatsHolden]

Yeh that's dissapointing. Apparently it's going to be posted at 130km/h. All the performance car manufacturers are dissapointed as the NT is where they do a lot of their high speed, high temp testing, being able to run at high speed, high rpm in high temp for a long period of time. Those days are now over. :(

[rjastra]

Car manufacturers had already started to move to South Africa for high speed/hot weather testing.

Easier to get to and closer time zone to Europe.

Strange how people complain about a 130km/h speed limit on a 2 lane undivided unfenced road. No way in hell you'd be allowed that high a limit in any other developed country on such a road.

And have you seen the miniscule fine you get if caught exceeding that limit? $200!

NT needed to clean up its act and that limit was just one small part of it. Unfortunately it is the point that seems to be focussed on for some reason.

[MatsHolden]

The thing is that the majority of fatalities that do occur, the drivers are under the influence of alcohol. This is the real problem, not the speed. Also the stats are skewed as most of the accidents occur in town where the speeds are low.

[btm]

'tis a sad day :(

[digifish]

The thing is that the majority of fatalities that do occur, the drivers are under the influence of alcohol.

It's about 30%.

digifish,

[CJB]

But, will Police be patrolling those roads?

[MatsHolden]

Ok 30% under the influence of alcohol and 50% not wearing seatbelts. Why not address these issues? Reason... because it's about politics, not peoples safety.

[rjastra]

Ok 30% under the influence of alcohol and 50% not wearing seatbelts. Why not address these issues? Reason... because it's about politics, not peoples safety.

Ummm, they are!

[MatsHolden]

Ummm, they are!

No they're not. They are all about the speed. Forget to mention anything about alcohol and seatbelts in the NT. If they were doing something about it why do they only fine drivers with BAC of between 0.05 and 0.08 only $100? Not only that, it doesn't matter how many times they offend, it remains a $100 fine. 1 in 42 NT drivers who are RBT'd are over 0.05.

[rjastra]

No they're not. They are all about the speed. Forget to mention anything about alcohol and seatbelts in the NT. If they were doing something about it why do they only fine drivers with BAC of between 0.05 and 0.08 only $100? Not only that, it doesn't matter how many times they offend, it remains a $100 fine. 1 in 42 NT drivers who are RBT'd are over 0.05.

And the response by the NT government is....

http://www.saferroaduse.nt.gov.au/govtrepsonse.html


b) Amend the Traffic Act such that any BAC offence that occurs within three years of a previous BAC offence leads to immediate administrative suspension of licence regardless of the degree of substantive penalty;

c) Approve amendments to the Traffic Act to provide for immediate suspension of driver licences for three months for a second offence and six months for subsequent 0.05 or greater BAC offences within three years. Approved

[Nem]

I'm happy with every other amendment they've made to the road laws. Bigger fines - sure - Points system - absolutely. But the highways up here arent like down south. You dont pass lots of cars going either way and there is no need for fences cause its mostly open country. And per head of population/per kilometre I'd have to say we have the best highways in Australia too.
The biggest statistic that they didn't mention was the number of tourists and aboriginals being killed. They even proved that by taking them out of the equation that we're actually only .1% above the national average. And it wasn't speed that was killing them. It was fatigue (tourists) alcohol (our ingenious friends) and too many people being loaded into vehicles, particularly utes and troopies.
The CLP (Liberals) have already said that if they're returned to power they'll remove the open speed limit. I think its a pretty loose promise but I vote with them usually anyway so perhaps its better than donkey voting. ;)
The funny thing was that it was a Queenslander that got the first fine for doing over the speed limit. He said he hadnt heard about the law changes. He got caught doing 165 on the highway (now 130km/h). He copped a $500 fine IIRC.