Australia’s Northern Territory has introduced speed limits on the nation’s last unrestricted highway network. A 130km/h limit will be enforced on the four major highways where speed is currently unrestricted. A 110km/h limit will apply on other rural roads.
The plan was announced by Chief Minister Clare Martin, who says the risk of dying on Territory roads was three times that of elsewhere in Australia. “I’m not proud of our road safety record,” Ms. Martin said. “We drink and drive, we don’t put seat belts on, we run red lights. We are very poor drivers and we’ve got to change that, and I don’t make any apologies.”
The Leftlane Perspective: Ms. Martin admits drivers in Australia’s Northern Territory drive drunk, don’t obey traffic lights, and don’t wear seatbelts, yet she decides decides to make speed the centerpiece of her highway safety proposal. Once again, it appears speed is a convenient scapegoat.
