Could just do what they do on the Autobahn, just cancel the insurance if they're going over a certain speed.

-PB

Mudgee!

I was born there. Were you driving back to Newcastle?

That road is fairly notorious.

NT has low population base. Darwin no bigger than 130,000 people.

That death rate in 2010 was way too high... Without reading the article, has the death toll dropped at all?

Praise NT!

http://www.drive.com.au/motor-news/nt-extends-open-speed-limit-zone-20140825-1084mj.html

The Northern Territory Government has extended its open speed limits trial to a further 72 kilometres of the Stuart Highway.

Following its successful trial of 204 kilometres of derestricted roads from Alice Springs to Barrow Creek, the NT Government has pushed its open speed limits zone just short of the Ali Curung Rail Overpass.

:lol: was thinking that. If you drive the length of the highway you're lucky to see 3 or more cars.

Um.. no thanks. I like living.

Dem potholes.

Worst road in QLD/Australia easy.

-PB

Driving home from Mudgee a few weeks ago I drove on an unrestricted speed street. It was fine - people do what they feel safe with.

Yeah, if you've been out that way it's easy to understand why it's a good idea. In contrast, I won't go over 105 on the Bruce Highway. Better to stay alive imo.

I just finished a 1500km round trip from Bangkok to Chiang Mai and back.

The Stuart Highway sounds like a dream.

Really enjoy sitting in the middle lane in Europe at 160kmh, only problem is it becomes a habit and tickets always occur in the first few weeks back in Oz:evil:

-PB

The people complaining obviously haven't driven on the Stuart highway before, the roads in better condition than a lot of the rural highways in Victoria, there's barely any other cars on the road and it's flat and straight as fuck. We easily did 200 for a fair amount of the way and that's only because our car had a speed limiter.

I don't think I'd ever go over 120 even if allowed, even though my car could probably do over 200 easily.

Highest I ever got was 140, going down a valley bridge on the drive back from Gosford for the CCM match, was concentrating on just staying straight along the road after hitting a wet patch, knowing that I'd be going back up the other side (ie, the hill) and that it would slow down naturally.

As someone who grew up in country areas, there is definitely room to increase/remove speed limits on so many roads. You can travel km after km without even a bend in the road.

People who drive like dickheads, will drive like dickheads no matter what the limit is

Have you ever been out onto the Stuart Highway?

FFS

You have clearly never driven on NT roads :lol:

-PB

Yeah that's fair, but a lot of those cars might struggle to get much faster than 120 anyway. My friend's barina can barely reach 110!

My main issue with increasing speed limits isn't really the quality of the roads it is the car licencing laws. Do we really want people in 30-40 year old bombs trying to drive their cars 10, 20, 30 kms faster than what they were designed for.

Admittedly I haven't done that stretch, I haven't driven much out of queensland. Obviously in those cases the speed shouldn't be lifted, but some of the highways here now you can drive at 110 and it feels like you're going 40.

You obviously haven't driven between Sydney and Wollongong. Putting the speed limit above 110 from Waterfall to Bulli and 80 from further on would be a disaster.

Pretty much this,but I can't believe Australia took away some kind of enforcement! We're turning into a bit of a nanny state.

I remember Dad putting his foot down in the NT. There were slight changes in the level of the road that were hard to see because of the everywhere was so flat and because of the mirages coming off the road. At high speeds they would cause the car's wheels to leave the road. After the first one Dad didn't put his foot down so hard.

Good move, should be imposed nationwide.

Doing 280 on a public road.

:shock:

Yay!

http://theage.drive.com.au/motor-news/outback-open-speed-limits-met-with-opposition-20131017-2vnwr.html

Northern Territory transport minister Peter Styles says he will stick by a trial of open speed limits despite stern opposition from the medical community, transport and motoring bodies.

Speed limits will be abolished from February 1 along a 200 kilometre stretch of road from Alice Springs north to Barrow Creek.

The road did not have a speed limit until 130km/h signs were posted in 2007 in a move that divided Territorians.

Mr Styles said people were already ignoring outback speed limits.

Advertisement “I did that trip, Alice Springs to Darwin, three and a half months ago.

“I was sitting on 130km/h and people were whizzing by me all day. These weren’t young people in V8 utes, these were regular family people.

The transport minister says said there were no speed related fatalities between 2001 and 2011 on the trial stretch of the Stuart Highway.

“There are people who have said ‘it’s all terrible’ and ‘it’s all sad’,” he said.

“[But] There have been no speed related deaths on that road. It’s considered to be a low crash risk section of road.”

Mr Styles said preliminary reports suggested around 80 per cent of Northern Territory residents supported the move, with about 20 per cent in opposition.

Ray Wyatt, branch secretary for the Transport Workers’ Union in South Australia and the Northern Territory, said increased closing speeds were dangerous, particularly as many trucks are still limited to 90km/h.

“Life is more valuable than people going quicker from A to B,” he says. “The faster you go, the more damage will occur in an accident. It raises the risk.”

Andrew McKellar, executive director of the Australian Automobile Association, told the ABC that the increased limits were “gambling with people’s lives”.

Darwin store owner Dwyn Delaney thinks the limits will make little difference.

“At the end of the day I still think that people are going to kill themselves whether they are going 100km/h or 150km/h,” he said.

“There are people driving on the streets that shouldn’t be driving at all.”

Mr Delaney took his V8-powered Holden muscle car for a run on the highway in the final week before 130km/h limits were introduced in 2007.

“I got it up to about 280km/h,” he said.

“I don’t really look at the speedometer, you don’t really take your eyes off the road for a second.”

David Read is a general surgeon at Royal Darwin Hospital and the Northern Territory representative for the trauma committee of the Royal Australasian College of Surgery.

He is firmly against the move.

“The Northern Territory has a rate of death on the roads three times higher than the rest of the nation.

“It’s pretty close to developing nation levels of death on the roads … and for every person that is killed on the road we see 10 more significantly injured.”

The Territory’s road toll rate of more than 21 deaths per 100,000 people each year is almost on par with Burundi in East Africa.

The national average in 2010 was 6.1 deaths per 100,000 people.

Yet the Territory road toll increased after speed limits were introduced on rural roads.

Dr Read said the rise was in urban areas and that the highway toll was falling.

“The 130km/h speed limit is starting to work … to throw that away now would be extremely disappointing,” he said.

“If you travel at 160km/h along that stretch you might save yourself 15 minutes but double or triple your chances of dying on that road.

“If you save yourself 15 to 20 minutes on the trip is it really worth it for taking that risk?”

Shadow NT Transport Minister, Gerry McCarthy, called for Mr Styles to release four research reports that led to the open-limit trial.

“The public deserves to know the contents of these secret reports so Territorians can see the expert advice being given to Government,” McCarthy said.

“To make a decision on open speed limits without evidence is irresponsible.”

Northern Territory police minister John McRoberts said police would continue to patrol the road, making sure that driving behaviour was appropriate to prevailing conditions.

“All drivers are reminded that open speed limits still require legal and safe driving practice,” he said.

“Anyone driving in a manner considered dangerous will be prosecuted.”