Default speed limits on roads outside built-up areas could be reduced from 100km/h to 80km/h to arrest Australia’s rising road toll that hit a 12-year high with 1300 deaths in 2024 and 35,815 hospitalisations.
NSW has recorded 366 deaths in the year to September, 42 more than in the same period last year. Two-thirds of the fatalities happened on regional and country roads outside Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong.
Emergency crews at a fatal crash last month. Credit: Nine News
A federal government consultation paper released last week argues that a reduction from 100km/h to 80km/h in the speed limit on unsignposted roads would save hundreds of lives, save billions in costs and avoid thousands of injuries.
The regulatory impact analysis estimates that more than 85 per cent of fatalities occur on rural and regional roads with speed limits above 80km/h.
[SRC] https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/how-an-extra-taylor-swift-track-on-open-roads-could-save-your-life-20251003-p5mzyp.html
