18 Aug 2012

Govt unlikely to approve speed limit increase

5:29 pm on 18 August 2012

The Government says it's unlikely to allow the speed limit to be raised to 110km per hour.

A Transport Ministry briefing in June to Associate Transport Minister, Simon Bridges, says a110km per hour limit on suitable parts of the road network warrants further consideration.

The Automobile Association says it would support the increase for four-star motorways.

It says the change in speed limit would not cause a spike in crashes.

But Mr Bridges is not convinced.

He says the average age of a car in New Zealand is 13 years and he says a speed limit rise is not on the agenda.

Mr Bridges says the reality is successive governments have been selling the message that speed kills, and there's a lot of truth in that.

The Automobile Association says drivers already travel at 110km per hour on many motorways and it believes a number of motorways could easily have the speed limit raised.