Regional roads Victoria: Police veteran dubious over speed limit reduction push

Road patrol veteran Phil Edge says a plan to reduce speed limits on ‘high risk’ roads was a lazy answer to a funding problem.

A go-slow approach on rural roads is a lazy answer to a funding problem, a highway patrol veteran says.

A recent parliamentary inquiry into Victoria’s road toll recommended the speed limit on “high crash risk” regional roads be lowered from 100 to 80 kilometres an hour.

Former Police Association Victoria president Phil Edge said wholesale speed limit changes would not be accepted by most regional motorists.

“It’s just the easy way out — and 80km/h won’t stop crashes occurring, or reduce them by much,” he said.

“Lowering speed limits seems to be the approach from all governments, rather than spending the money that’s needed to fix the problem, or prevent the issue happening in the first place.

“For instance, the dual highway between Winchelsea and Colac is only a few years old yet there was work last year to repair potholes and resurface the road.

Former Highway patrol officer Phil Edge said that speed limit changes would not be accepted by most regional motorists. Picture: Mike Dugdale

“Clearly more needs to be spent, millions more.”

A Network Safety Plan will mark out roads that need additional infrastructure improvements and those that can have their speed limits lowered will be completed by the Department of Transport in the next two years.

Any proposed changes would then be put forward to the community for consultation.

“It is understood the community is concerned that reduced speed limits in rural and regional areas will result in increased travel times,” the government response reads.

“The Victorian Government will support any changes to policy with community education that highlights the systemic risk of speed and links to road trauma on low standard roads, while also addressing travel time concerns.”

A recommendation for different types of vehicles such as motorbikes being allowed to travel at different speeds to cars was not supported by the government.

About 30 per cent of fatal crashes, and 15 per cent of serious injuries following a smash across the state happens on lower volume rural roads with a speed of 100 km/h.

A government spokeswoman said a “strong track record” in road safety had helped decrease the number of lives being lost on Victorian roads and the shattered loved ones who were left behind.

“Our Road Safety Strategy builds on all we’ve achieved to date across safety policy, education, technology, infrastructure and vehicle safety, while laying the groundwork for future road safety innovation,” she said.

Opposition spokeswoman Bev McArthur condemned the Government’s plan to take two years to create a Network Safety Plan to identify which roads will get fixed.

“Give country and regional Victorians two weeks and they can give you a comprehensive list of every appalling road in the state. Each of these deserves to get fixed,” she said.

“This is not a game of pick and choose who gets to drive on safe roads.”