29 Mar 2013

AA wants speed raised for new motorways

1:02 am on 29 March 2013

The Automobile Association wants the maximum speed limit on new motorways with a high safety rating be set at 110 kilometres an hour.

The limit on existing motorways is 100 kmh.

The call comes in the AA's submission on the Government's Safer Journeys action plan for the next two years, which reviews speed limits across the country among other measures.

Its recommendations for the next two years were released on Wednesday.

An AA spokesperson, Simon Lambourne, says speed limits around New Zealand are a mess and subject to ad hoc changes by local councils.

He says drivers become confused when similar roads have different speed limits and a uniform system would make travelling around New Zealand easier.

Police say speed limits need to reflect risks and higher speeds could be possible on safer roads.

But national road policing manager, Superintendent Carey Griffiths, says only a small proportion of the country's roading network is rated highly in terms of safety.

The latest Safer Journeys plan includes targeting dangerous intersections and old vehicles, as well as blood-alcohol limits.

Associate Transport Minister Michael Woodhouse if it supports lowering limits for adult drivers, then Cabinet will seriously consider doing so.

Mr Woodhouse says the blood-alcohol limit could come down from 0.08 to 0.05.