Top End extends open speed limit

The Northern Territory has extended its open speed limit zone to include another 72km of the Stuart Highway, bringing the total to 276km.

Announced on Friday, the move will see the existing open speed limit trial on the Territory's main north-south thoroughfare extended from Barrow Creek to the Ali Curung Rail Overpass from September 1.

The extension follows first phase of an open speed limit trial on a 204km stretch of the highway — starting 37km south of Barrow Creek and extending to 10km north of Alice Springs — in effect since February 2014.

Territory Government says the move, which will be accompanied by $1.55 million worth of safety improvements and signage upgrades on the section of road, delivers on its election promise to begin an evidence-based trial of open speed limits on the Stuart Highway.

"Today’s extension will mean 276km of the highway is now covered by the trial which is welcome news for frequent road users, especially in the Barkly region and Central Australia," said the NT Government on August 14.

"Over the past 10 years, there has not been a single speed-related fatality on this new stretch of road.

"While we are giving Territorians back this opportunity to set their own speed, it comes with the responsibility of driving to the road conditions, safely and within ones capabilities."

The extra stretch of road is accompanied by an extension of the 12-month trial that was due to expire in February this year. The NT Department of Transport will undertake a review of the trial to determine its success and future viability.

"While data analysis is still being finalised for the last quarter, road users have generally behaved very well during the trial period and have acted responsibly with the open speed limits," said the NT government.

"A review process will now be undertaken before other decisions are made about making the open speed limit zones permanent, or extending them to other locations."

NT Chief Minister Adam Giles has left the door open for further expansion of the open speed limit regime and sections of the Barkly Highway and the Stuart Highway north of Tennant Creek have also been mooted for open speed limit trials.

“While there are a lot of people who say they want open speed limits from Darwin to Katherine, that is a challenge,” he said.

In a statement issued to NT News this week, a spokesman for the chief minister said a summary report into the current 206km trial would be made public in coming weeks.

“As outlined in July, the Northern Territory Government is looking to expand open speed limits following the success of a 12-month trial,” said the spokesman.

“A summary report of the trial and more details on the possible expansion of open speed limit zones will be released within the next few weeks.”

After driving the highway himself and reading a detailed report of the trial, which will not be made public due to a cabinet-in-confidence ruling, the NT transport minister said he was “absolutely certain” open limits were the right move and believed drivers acted responsibly on the open sections during the trial.

“Before the open speed limits, the average punter that drove on those roads drove between 130-140 km/h," said Chandler.

“What they find today, after the open speed limit trial is completed, the average punter still drives between 130-140km/h. To me that demonstrates quite clearly that the average person out there is driving the road responsibly.”

The NT transport minister said the prospect of creating new trial sections of open limits on the Stuart Highway and adding a stretch on the Barkly Highway would be flagged at the next cabinet meeting.

“I’d like to see the trial extended for a bit longer and perhaps look at some other areas that we might want to also include in the trial,” he said, adding that any changes to open speed sections would be need to be approved by the NT cabinet.

“I need to take it back to cabinet... because it’s a cabinet decision on whether we turn it permanent or whether we continue with the trial,” said Chandler.

“But there are some other sections of road that I ultimately think should be included in the trial area and I’ll need to talk to (the Transport Department) about that and to see whether or not we can do it and what cost is it going to be.”

The NT's famed open highway speed limits were scrapped in 2007, when they were replaced by 110 and 130km/h zones in return for increased Commonwealth funding.

Between then and 2012, more people died on Northern Territory roads (307) than in the six years before the change (292).

The Country Liberal Party promised a review of the new speed limits before it won the 2012 Territory election, resulting in the unlimited speed trial zones starting about 20km north of Alice Springs from early last year.

In January this year the NT government said it would extend the trial from February 1 after it found there were no speed-related deaths, injuries or accidents in the open speed zones during the trials.

"We haven't had a death on that section of road," Chandler said. "Whilst we've had deaths in the Territory in the past year or so, most of them are related to drink driving, seatbelt use and un-roadworthy vehicles."

Not all parties are happy with the windback of speed limits in the NT, however. Opposition transport spokesman Ken Vowles said the report should have been made public before Giles started announcing plans.

“All evidence and every study points to one direction – more speed means more accidents. Territory Labor agrees with doctors, nurses and paramedics who are anti open-limits,” he said.

There have been two caravan rollovers on the Stuart Highway in the past month, but it's unclear if speeds in excess of 100km/h were involved.

Meantime the NSW government appears no closer to the review of its highway speed limits promised by state Roads Minister Duncan Gay earlier this year, when he said posted limits on the Hume and Pacific Highways would be re-evaluated following extensive upgrades that may not be completed until 2020.