Transport experts and health professionals urge Govt to halt speed increases plan

Monday, 16 September 2024

Transport expert Professor Simon Kingham has co-authored a letter calling for the Government to change its position on proposed speed changes.

Academics, transport experts and health professionals are pleading with the Government to “reconsider” blanket speed limit changes.

In an open letter, co-authors Professor Simon Kingham, the former chief science adviser at the Ministry of Transport, and Dave Cliff, chief executive of the Global Road Safety Partnership, said changes to speed limits would have “life-threatening consequences”.

The Press spoke to people of the streets of Christchurch about how they feel about the 51 seconds saved by changing the speed limit to 110km/h on State Highway 76.

“Raising speed limits will lead to more fatalities and severe, life-altering injuries on New Zealand roads,” they wrote to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Transport Minister Simeon Brown.

The proposed changes are a product of a National election promise, undoing Labour’s blanket speed limit reductions.

National wants to return speed limits on local roads to 50kph from 30kph, to 100kph on some state highways that have seen limits lowered to 80kph, and to bring in speed limits of 110kph on others.

Highways with current speed limits of 80kph could see changes back to 100 kph, which the group of academics say could cost lives.

The changes are set to come into force July 1, 2025.

The letter, published on Monday and backed by more than 90 academics and transport experts from around the world, challenged the Government’s claim that high speeds would yield economic benefits and said it was unsupported by evidence.

They said increasing speed limits would not only undermine the country’s commitment to several political declarations regarding road safety, but result in higher CO₂ emissions and place a burden on the health system.

The Government will consult on raising the speed limit for the Christchurch Southern Motorway to 110kph - from the Curletts Rd interchange in Addington to the Weedons Rd interchange in Rolleston.

“The evidence is unequivocal: as mean vehicle speeds rise, so do the number of deaths and serious injuries. New Zealand has made considerable progress in recent years in adopting speed limits that align with safe system principles, saving countless lives in the process,” they wrote.

“We strongly urge you to reconsider the proposed blanket speed limit increases. Should this rule be adopted, the tragic consequence will be more New Zealanders losing their lives or suffering severe injury, along with a substantial burden on the nation's healthcare and rehabilitation services.”

Trauma surgeons who endorsed the letter expressed “deep concern” over anticipated rise in serious road crashes.

They are all “strongly urging” Luxon and Brown to reconsider reversing their decision.

“To do otherwise would put lives at risk,” the letter said.