THE SA government has been in talks with councils throughout the state on ways to reduce road trauma.
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![SIGN AHEAD: Speed limits on country roads throughout SA could be lowered to 100 kilometres an hour in an effort by the state government to reduce road trauma. SIGN AHEAD: Speed limits on country roads throughout SA could be lowered to 100 kilometres an hour in an effort by the state government to reduce road trauma.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/Fuxf4VmvfUmd225xeYC69T/5cc15e00-67d3-4fb3-a897-74d2bfd90122.JPG/r337_99_1980_1684_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Among the suggestions is to lower the speed on all regional roads, except national highways, to 100 kilometres an hour.
The government has based this idea on research carried out by the Centre for Automotive Safety Research, through the University of Adelaide.
CASR director Jeremy Woolley said the centre had spent many decades working in the field of road safety and crash investigation.
“There is overwhelming research, not just in SA, but internationally, that shows lower speed limits reduce road trauma,” she said.
Mr Woolley said much of the debate needed to be about how far the community was willing to go to get better safety outcomes.
“Speed is a continuum, with zero very safe, up to 100km/hr or unlimited in some areas,” he said. “It’s a question of what the community is willing to accept.”
Mr Woolley believes there needs to be a change in the culture when people think of speed.
“There is a perception that travel times will be unfairly penalised,” he said.
“People tend to grossly overestimate the impact it will have.”
Mr Woolley said many corporations were already looking at risk management by limiting fleet speeds and found benefits in lower insurance and operating costs, less wear and tear on the car and lower fuel costs.
“There are a lot of benefits for lower speeds,” he said.
“It is a mindset thing.”
Mr Woolley said there were other options to improve road safety, but speed reduction was one of the quickest and simplest methods. “It is a viable option that can be done quite cheaply and easily,” he said.
“If we put speed limits down to 100km/hr tomorrow, we will see results immediately.”
Mr Woolley said introducing safer cars would take time to see the fleet upgraded, while road improvement could take many years.
He said roads could be unforgiving places, and people often underestimated the dangers.
“Everyone has a lifetime experience of driving… they start to equate driving with almost zero risk,” he said.
“We are asking for people, for hundreds of kilometres and hours on end, to keep their car on the bitumen.
“They’re going to end up, one day, inevitably losing concentration.”
Mr Woolley said some other things CASR would like to see were more sealed shoulders and crash barriers.
Newly-appointed Road Safety Minister Peter Malinauskas said he would be considering the issue in coming weeks.
“Anything that can save lives and lower the road toll and prevent casualties is worth considering,” he said.
“It's important any decision I make is based on evidence rather than emotion. I don't want to impose an inconvenience on country drivers unless it's actually going to make a difference.
Opposition road safety spokesperson David Pisoni said the view of the Liberal Party was that road maintenance and speed limits should be considered together. “A blanket ban (on 110km/hr speeds) is a very severe way of dealing with an issue,” he said.
“Our view is that government should be investing better in roads, especially country roads.”