NZTA proposes speed limit changes for Northland Highways

Waka Kotahi NZ Zealand Transport Agency intends to lower the speed limit on the Northland Highway network from 100km/h to 80km/h.

The proposal comes after the government canceled plans to build a four-lane corridor to improve roads between Auckland and Whangārei.

NZTA wants to reduce the number of serious accidents in the region after another horrendous holiday toll.

But lowering the speed limit can also have its downsides on certain roads across the country.

The trucking company’s owner, Stan Semenoff, told 1News: “We would need to adjust our prices, time is a cost to us and the consumer will always end up paying.”

However, NZTA’s Steve Mutton said: “Our primary focus is on the 800+ people who have died or been seriously injured on the corridors over the last decade and by checking our speeds and making them safe and appropriate we can now and we doing something can save many lives.”

Northland Chamber of Commerce CEO Steve Smith said slower road speeds mean more traffic and more expensive transportation costs for businesses.

But accidents are also expensive. The Department of Transportation puts the average social cost of a fatal accident at just over $5 million and a serious injury at $1 million.

NZTA says it will work with what it has and a decision will be announced next month.

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