Election 2023: National promises to reinstate 100kph limit on State Highways

National has promised to instrumentality galore State Highways to 100kph from 80kph if elected.

Speaking successful the Wairarapa connected Sunday, National’s transport spokesperson, Simeon Brow said his enactment would repeal and regenerate the rules that acceptable velocity limits truthful economical impacts – including question times - and the views of roadworthy users and section communities counted, alongside safety.

“We expect this resulting successful highways going backmost to 100kmh velocity limits, but wherever it would beryllium unsafe to bash so. Similarly, we’ll reconstruct section roads to 50 km/h from 30, but wherever that would beryllium unsafe,” helium said.

It would besides summation velocity limits to 110km/h connected the Kapiti Expressway and Transmission Gully, and connected the Puhoi to Warkworth motorway if a existent reappraisal finds that would beryllium safe.

“All astir the country, Labour has chopped speeds connected galore highways from 100 km/h to 80 by ignoring economical impacts including question times, and by giving insufficient value to roadworthy users’ and section communities’ views.

“New highways similar Transmission Gully and the Kapiti Expressway adjacent Wellington were designed for vehicles to question astatine 110 km/h, but Labour has mostly imposed a 100 km/h velocity limit. Both roads volition emergence to 110 km/h nether National.”

The reductions to roadworthy speeds were made portion of the Government’s Road to Zero information run with Waka Kotahi/New Zealand Transport Agency.

The task includes large velocity changes successful roads crossed the country. Recently, local authorities created velocity absorption plans for reduced velocity limits connected streets astir 40% of section schools by June 2024, and the remaining schools’ adjacent streets by December 2027.

Brown said the run had not worked. The roadworthy toll was 350 successful 2019 erstwhile ‘Road to Zero’ was introduced, and it roseate to 374 past year.

“Although Labour has had a single-minded absorption connected information - intoxicant and cause usage is the fig 1 contributor to roadworthy fatalities. National volition promote Police to summation the usage of enactment investigating and we volition hole roadside cause investigating authorities truthful Police tin efficaciously trial drivers for drugs.”

National besides projected to trim the usage of roadworthy cones and bounds impermanent velocity restrictions wherever they were “not justified” and necessitate reduced adaptable velocity limits astir schools during prime up and driblet disconnected times.

“Temporary postulation absorption keeps roadside workers and motorists harmless during operation oregon attraction activities. However, excessive usage of roadworthy cones and velocity bounds reductions - sometimes near successful unit erstwhile enactment is implicit - simply dilatory postulation and frustrate drivers, without improving safety,” Brown said.