It is reported that due to the upcoming NT Election Professor Brian Fildes of the Monash University Accident Research Centre is pushing for a mandatory maximum speed limit of 100kph (and even lower) throughout the NT!

The reason being given is that the road toll this year is 37 (15 more than last year!)

This country abounds in "experts" who "profess" to know all the answers!.....If these people would use a little commonsense they would accept that:
a) There are many more vehicles travelling these roads, thus increasing the odds of an accident occurring!
b) Most of the accidents are attributable to drivers, mainly tourists (terrorists), falling asleep at the wheel due to the excellent condition of the roads, as compared to other States across Australia!...(maybe with the exception of WA!)
c) Some accidents are a direct result of the blow-out of over-inflated tyres, which is a due to ignorance in tyre pressure maintenance and the extreme road surface temperatures!.....this is known Territory-wide as the "Banglop" principle!

If these "experts" were to spend some time in the NT travelling these roads, they would, or should realise that a higher speed limit than the rest of the country, is needed to travel the long distances between centres!

Hitting a tree at 100kph makes little differance than hitting it at 130kph!.....the ultimate result is likely to be the same!

I live in the NT.
The main problem with bad driving is most definitely NOT the tourists here. Just about any local police officer will tell you that.

The problem is a Territory that's awash with drunken, incompetent, irresponsible "NT" drivers. There's a MASSIVE drink/drug culture in the NT; a visit to any Darwin/Alice Springs nightspot will confirm this to anyone who wishes to actually open their eyes.
NT drivers are the worst in Australia, with tailgating, high speed, playing "chicken", drunkenness, car overloading, poor car maintenance and overall social irresponsibility. Money is overflowing here, jobs are plentiful and easy to get and the personal wealth is spent on booze, booze and more booze.

Don't blame the tourists. Put the blame where it belongs........NT registered drivers. The worst drivers in the world!

Until recently there was "no" speed limit on the Stuart Highway. It's now 130 k's. Many NT drivers are waaaaaaay too incompetent to drive faster than that. Urban speed limits are much the same as anywhere else in Australia.

Whatever you do up there in the NT,don't become a nanny state like NSW.We are over regulated to the eyeballs here and it is retarding our economy and quality of life.

Generally speaking I'm not a fan of unnecessary regulation. When it comes to road safety it must be remembered we are directly dealing with peoples' right to stay alive. I don't want to be killed or injured by someone who resents road rules. For the "road", strict and thorough regulation is a necessity.

The difference between driving in a confined urban area at 60 kph and 80 kph can EASILY mean the difference between life and death. In school zones, the difference between 40 kph and 60 kph can also easily mean the difference between life and death.

The same applies when you're on the NT Stuart Highway; the skill required to control a car at 100 kph is much less than at 130 kph; the skill levels required at 130 kph are much less than at 170 kph. The trouble is that there's many NT drivers who are terrible, irresponsible drivers who thoroughly believe they can efficiently handle ANY speed under ANY conditions. There's also an equally large number of NT drivers who couldn't care less anyway and believe they should be able to do as they wish on the roads.

Sometimes strict and enforced regulation is absolutely necessary, especially when peoples' lives are on the line. Just look at the huge number of lives saved by the compulsion to wear seat belts and motorcycle helmets.

philips, you make it sound like the speed limit is the least of NT's problems. If so, I'd agree. Speed limits do have an effect, but not huge. Other places have unlimited speed roads - Germany for example. Germany's accident rates are much the same as Australia's. NZ, which has speed limits just like us, has much higher accident rates.

If they addressed the other problems you mention they would have a bigger effect on accident rates, and probably fix a whole pile of other problems as well.

if anything there should be a more felxible system for driving faster than we currently allow. These reactions by banning all speeding in a knee jerk fashion are terrible. Dangerous driving should be the focus.