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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1998 Week 5 Hansard (26 August) . . Page.. 1330 ..

MS TUCKER (continuing):

The statistics show that old people and young people are most at risk of injury or fatality. There is a general acknowledgment by road safety experts that lowering the speed limit will reduce the number and extent of road accidents, particularly those involving pedestrians and cyclists, and generally reduce the impacts of traffic on the safety and amenity of residential streets. It would also make on-road cycling more attractive as an alternative transport mode.

The drawbacks of a lower speed limit are minor. Studies have found that a lower speed limit hardly increases travel times because most traffic delays are caused by traffic lights and busy arterial roads. There could also be marginal savings in fuel consumption. It is interesting to note that the 1997 Federal Office of Road Safety study found that speeding in an urban area is as dangerous as driving with an illegal blood alcohol concentration. Travelling at 65 kilometres per hour increases the risk of crash involvement as much as driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.05.

I find it very odd that the Government is prepared to put more and more resources into stopping drink-driving, and imposing harsher penalties, but will not support lower speed limits, which has just as many road safety benefits, although this time, of course, we are hoping government will support it. It should be noted that there is already a significant level of community support for reduced speed limits. A Federal Office of Road Safety survey found that 62 per cent of Australians agree that the speed limit should be lowered. An NRMA survey in 1995 found 74 per cent of those polled supported a 50-kilometre speed limit on local residential streets. Obviously any reduction in the speed limit must be accompanied by a broad educational campaign so that everyone is aware of the changes.

The main issue in Australia now regarding reducing the speed limit seems to be one of generating the necessary political will to set a more appropriate traffic speed in residential areas. Unfortunately, till now most governments have been reluctant to confront the general public about this issue. In August 1997, the New South Wales Government, to its credit, initiated a three-month trial of the 50-kilometre speed limit in 14 local government areas in New South Wales, including Queanbeyan, and later expanded this to an extra 13 councils.

The results of this trial were very positive for lowering the speed limit. This trial showed that there was a 7 per cent decrease in the number of casualties and casualty crashes in the trial areas relative to crash numbers in the rest of the State over that period. This is very significant, given that the trial was only temporary and that there was only a reduction of average speeds of up to two kilometres in the trial areas. Support for the 50-kilometre speed limit is mixed across local government areas in New South Wales, but it is significant that 71 per cent of councils in the greater Sydney area, and two-thirds of residents in the trial areas, support a 50-kilometre speed limit. All New South Wales local government areas have now been invited by the State Government to establish 50-kilometre residential precincts.

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