Aotearoa / New Zealand

I recently drove SH6 over the Whangamoas. Most areas that were once 100 are now 80 or lower (except the closest part near Blenheim). I was towing a trailer, and it did not add any appreciable time to the trip, but made the whole drive much less stressful. No more Utes up my arse because how dare I not do the full 100 on the windy as fuck road. So from my personal experience I like the change.

It also helps that 80 is right around the most fuel efficient speed, which is nice now that petrol is $3+

I personally have not noticed significant changes in travel times due to the reduction in speed limits, which may just be because of where I live (Transmission Gully and the Kāpiti Expressway have definitely cut travel times, more than offsetting any difference in speed changes on other roads).

I found it hard to get recent data, but found this interesting (vs National's claim that Road to Zero isn't working):

Deaths peaked in 2017, but really dropped in 2020 and 2021 (presumably COVID related). Then we have 2022 which was 374 deaths, the highest since 2018. But what was the rate compared to the distance traveled? I haven't found a 2022 VKT number, but it would be interesting to see. Also, one off blips in data don't mean that a programme with a 30 year plan isn't working. In fact, given COVID, I don't think you could judge the programme at all for at least another few years.

Now if someone says "we shouldn't spend this money on X because it could save even more lives spent on Y" then ok cool. But I think we all know if they cut Road to Zero it will be to pay for the lack of money they allocated for their promised road projects.

Have you read the entire article? I'm absolutely not a National fan but they're not saying that they will reverse all changes, only there were it's safe to do so. Essentially what the current plan is, perhaps at less places.

Also, they want to focus on other things than speed, eg on alcohol testing.

National will encourage police to increase the use of breath testing and we will fix roadside drug testing legislation so police can effectively test drivers for drugs.

I'm from The Netherlands where we have an absurd focus on speed, and speed testing. It has got nothing to do with safety where they are testing, it's just another tax.

I've got my license 25 years or so and have only been tested for alcohol once. Never in my ten years in New Zealand. That's crazy. One in five fatal crashes is caused by alcohol.

I've been trying to follow this story and the evidence underpinning the decision. That is based upon te published data for killied and seriously injured.(KSI). Any alternate approach at this time is not providing evidence, that I have been able to pick up. It seems more like a power / votes opportunity rather than a well founded argument. Despite it being unpopular, like when we mandated seatbels in 1983,I still suppot the reduced speed limits unti the evidece says otherwise.

National to actually spend money on safety upgrades and road maintenance, rather than the band-aid solution of lowering speed limits.

Seriously, the evidence this actually works is tenuous at best, and that's assuming people actually follow the new limits.

There's also a number of routes, the new Kapiti expressway for example, that could handle much higher limits, and in fact frequently do handle vehicles travelling much faster.

Speaking to media today, Hipkins claimed it appeared National was simply re-announcing what the Government's stated position was.

Labour are also saying this is more or less their policy, so it doesn't sound like they will be much different at all.

30m is nothing in government budget. It's so funny how they always mention the cost cause they know how tight we all are with money.