Law

A proposal to raise the speed limit to 110km/h on selected roads is simply keeping up with the times, says the car review website dogandlemon.com.

“Modern highways are infinitely safer than roads of even twenty years ago, yet the speed limit has not budged. Driving at 110km/h on suitable highways is far safer than driving at 100km/h on many ordinary rural roads.”

The government’s ACC motorbike levy system, which was meant to help meet the higher costs of bike accidents, has not improved road safety, says the car review website dogandlemon.com.

The levy system has raised over $15 million, but the majority of it, which was supposed to be spent on road safety projects, remains unspent.

$2.9 million had been spent on road safety projects up to October 2016, projected to grow to $6.3 million by June 2017.

Last Monday’s multiple fatality near Huntly could have been prevented by simple changes in rules and technology, says the car review website dogandlemon.com.

Brisbane holidaymaker Stephen Phillips, together with his partner’s sons Jasper Williams, 14, and Ruben Williams, 12, were killed when their car collided with a truck on State Highway 1, after veering into the opposing lane.

A lack of safety features on the notorious Desert Road in the central North island was directly responsible for today’s triple fatality, says the car review website dogandlemon.com.

Editor Clive Matthew-Wilson, who is an outspoken road safety campaigner, says today’s accident was a typical example of what happens when roads aren’t properly built and managed.

“You have snow and ice, a driver unfamiliar with the conditions, a truck, and a lack of median barrier. The end result is three dead bodies.”