The Department of Transport is considering reducing the speed limit in urban areas to try to reduce the high death toll on the country’s roads.
The Department of Transport is considering reducing the speed limit in urban areas to try to reduce the high death toll on the country’s roads.
The possible drop in the speed limit is apparently linked to the high incidence of accidents involving pedestrians.
Arrive Alive spokesperson Wendy Watson has said that the transport department is considering dropping the urban speed limit from 60km/h to 50km/h.
This follows the announcement earlier this week that the number of speedsters on roads has increased from 28 per cent to 39 per cent between 2002 and 2003.
“One thing is certain – if you are driving at 50km/h, you can easily brake to 35km/h. If you hit a pedestrian at this speed, the person would probably survive,’ Watson said. “However, if you are driving at 60km/h, you can brake only to 50km/h. A pedestrian hit at this speed will probably die.”
Watson also said that efforts had been made to employ visible policing this year, but it was not possible to do this in every area.