Why 130km/h makes sense for the Hume Highway

[Paxton]

(Call me csv8 for this, but...)

You don’t have to spend long in holiday traffic to realise more thought needs to go into speed zones around Australia.

Cruising along the Hume Highway (impressively now with more wire rope barriers to stop head-ons and impacts with trees, even if bikers understandably aren't fans) in light traffic on a sunny day, for example, and it’s clear there are sections that could easily handle speeds of 120 or 130km/h. Most of the dual carriageway (which is almost the entire stretch these days) could easily cope with higher speeds in the right conditions.

There’s good vision, smooth bitumen and long on- and off-ramps, all of which are conducive to higher speeds – and getting somewhere in less time.

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The Hume highway ... good vision, smooth bitumen and long on- and off-ramps. Photo: Andrew Quilty
Currently, though, the dual carriageway freeway can pose more dangers with fatigue than crawling over the at times tediously modest limit. There’s also the issue of tailgating, which is a genuine concern as drivers don’t dare risk creeping a few kilometres per hour over the limit, creating a recipe for high speed, multi-vehicle disaster.

Throw in speedo error (speedometers can be legally inaccurate by up to 10 per cent) and frustration and impatience is an increasing problem on one of Australia’s busiest freeways.

At the very least governments should investigate more European-style variable speed limits, which could impose slower speeds at night and in the rain while allowing higher speeds when it makes sense.

We already have variable limits on some inner-city freeways - it's time to expand them to country areas, allowing people to travel places more efficiently. Cars are, after all, a means of traveling places quickly.

Yet I get the impression it would be a bold government to trial higher speed limits than the current 110km/h state limit. We've been programmed to believe that anything over 110km/h is hooning even though other parts of the world - including the Northern Territory - prove otherwise.

Taken from here: http://smh.drive.com.au/roads-and-tr...102-1pho4.html

I'm all for it. I went north these Holidays (Coffs Harbour), but I've got family in Wagga Wagga, and the Hume can definitely take a higher speed limit. It is just a shame that our main artery North is still a dog track in some sections, single laned, pock marked, and slow. The F3 on the other hand is another candidate for higher speeds, especially now that it is three lanes in either direction.

[Jim Goose]

Variable speed limits make sence on a freeway.
Obviously if the freeway is multilaned, has good vis, break down lanes, cameras monitoring flow etc, why cant it be done?

[castellan]

I think it all comes down to the lowest denominator as a lot of people are hopeless and drive rubbish cars and we have to cater for people like that.
You will find people will buy the cheapest tyres and shocks they are totally ignorant numbskulls that have no idea.
So if you are a competent driver driving a FG XR6 130KM/H there is noting wrong with that at all, but the gov can make money out of you just for a joke, and they are getting away with it just like all the other bull the dictators push on us.
And we just sit by and swallow it all.
Some years ago a cop would make the decision and judge if he thought you were a problem him self. for example you driving a Datsun homer at 130 may not be a good idea.

[Bucknaked]

I was on the stuart highway a few weeks back. Between Darwin and Katherine, for a national highway, it was terrible. I wonder how they can maintain 130 speed limits when in the southern states, the quality of the roads is so much better than that goat track of the Stuart Highway.. Car safety has increased considerably, yet speed limits are still pretty low.

Having said that, I was happy cruising along at 120 ot 125, and I never had to bother checking my speedo every 5 minutes to see if I was going over the limit. I focussed on the road, not the speedo.

[Bossxr8]

I thought as soon as you go over 110 you instantly die?

[chrisfpv]

Originally Posted by Jim Goose

Variable speed limits make sence on a freeway.
Obviously if the freeway is multilaned, has good vis, break down lanes, cameras monitoring flow etc, why cant it be done?

It could be done, but the people who know this unfortunetly are the people with no control over it.

[Bearman]

A good sensible idea but it'll NEVER happen, the nanny state has seen to that. We have had 10+ years of social engineering drumming into us that doing 105km/h in a 100 zone makes you an anarchist, menace to society, global warming denier and killer of baby seals. For this you must be a$$ raped by the nanny state and have all your freedoms removed via your wallet.

Remember the hysteria the nanny state whipped up at Mark Skaife's proposals re increased speed limits on suitable roads. He was painted up as an almost Charles Manson type figure.

The Hume Freeway is a good example of a road that could accommodate a 130 or 140km/h speed limit but IMO it needs to be a minimum of 3 lanes either way and not all the off/on ramps are nice and long. The on ramps really should form their own physically separate lane and merge a km or 2 down the road.

Aside from the nanny state's social agendas, we have problems with driving standards which relates to having to cater to the lowest common denominator.

The Avanel Roadhouse near Seymour is a good example of access that needs a complete re-work. The on ramp is short and not seperated from the freeway by armco etc.

One day traveling to Winton with the club there were 3 cars towing trailers laden with track cars in single file (well spaced out) traveling in the left lane at 100km/h. The weather was foul.

A muppet driving a Toyota Rav4 (complete with feng shui mirror hanging) leaves the roadhouse and proceeds at slow speed across the on lane and straight onto the freeway left lane. The guys towing the track cars had to take evasive action and the folks in the right lane could see this unfolding and took steps to give the other guys room to manoeuvre.

Good driving and smart thinking by everyone on the scene at that time avoided what could have been a nasty accident with the Rav4 possibly copping a coupe club enema!! As we went by the Rav4 driver seemed totally oblivious to the near mayhem he caused.

Driving standards need a big improve first and foremost then work on suitable roads to accommodate the higher speeds.

[Falc'man]

Originally Posted by Paxton

(Call me csv8 for this, but...)

[Falc'man]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

I thought as soon as you go over 110 you instantly die?

Yes, you become poorer, and poverty can lead to death.

[naddis01]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

I thought as soon as you go over 110 you instantly die?

Not before you kill everyone around you first.

[The Yeti]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

I thought as soon as you go over 110 you instantly die?

No that's not actualy true.

But the problem is if you were to have a speedlimit of 130kmh allowing for an inaccuracy in your speedo you could actually be doing closer to 140km / h and if you go over that, to say 141.6223 km/h this converts to 88mph and we all know if we go over 88mph you tear a hole in the time space continuum. Now we all thought that was fine for Michael J Fox back in 1985, but look at the damage it has done to his health.

Looking at the facts I can't see how in good consence we could even think about lifting the speed limit above 110km

[Keepleft]

Won't raise limit (NSW) until ALL median U-Turn bays are upgraded vis;-
http://www.scribd.com/doc/69550834/N...ross-Treatment

Fed report into an Australian 130km/h limit.
http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roa...l_Speed_2.aspx

[cupic]

13 hrs drive from surfers to the gong,with breaks in between,Now if its 130 life would be grand but only on large safe stretches ,but then where would the revenue come from

cheers

[svo supporter]

Originally Posted by castellan

I think it all comes down to the lowest denominator as a lot of people are hopeless and drive rubbish cars and we have to cater for people like that.
You will find people will buy the cheapest tyres and shocks they are totally ignorant numbskulls that have no idea.
So if you are a competent driver driving a FG XR6 130KM/H there is noting wrong with that at all, but the gov can make money out of you just for a joke, and they are getting away with it just like all the other bull the dictators push on us.
And we just sit by and swallow it all.
Some years ago a cop would make the decision and judge if he thought you were a problem him self. for example you driving a Datsun homer at 130 may not be a good idea.

Rubbish cars???? What do you class as a rubbish car??? One persons idea of good isn't the same as the next. That simple.



So what do you class as a competent driver???? A 40 year old, with a clean driving history that's never had so much as a speeding ticket???

What would you class as decent shocks and tyres?? Reading round the lovely interweb, everyone has a differing opinion on what's crap and what's good in this area. So this leave the door wide open for debate. Not ignorant numbskulls, as you put it.

As for speed limits. There are roads that have been upgraded in S.A and the lovely powers to be have actually lowered the speed limit. So who knows how their minds work.

[Ben73]

I have been thinking variable limits for a long time now. But this will not happen any time soon.

[mik]

i really dislike the Hume hwy victoria side, not just for the rough section coming into melbourne, but when you do get out a bit onto the good road it is as boring as hell, 110 kph truly seems like snail pace.
it would be nice to see them up the speed a bit, even if it is only on the long boring sections.

[flappist]

Originally Posted by svo supporter

Rubbish cars???? What do you class as a rubbish car??? One persons idea of good isn't the same as the next. That simple.

Absolutely.

I heard a story of a person who wanted to connect to the internet on a Commodore 64 with a valve black and white television as a monitor.

It was perfectly good in 1984 so it still must be able to do everything the new ones do just as well if not better.

I wonder if he would have got upset if anyone said it was a rubbish computer.

[BigBlue]

Originally Posted by Bearman

A good sensible idea but it'll NEVER happen

Aside from the nanny state's social agendas, we have problems with driving standards which relates to having to cater to the lowest common denominator.

Driving standards need a big improve first and foremost then work on suitable roads to accommodate the higher speeds.

I have to agree the increase in speed is welcomed by those who can actually drive and take some pride in doing just that.

Sadly most don't so we have the situation Bearman summed up in the quote above.

In addition there is simply too much revenue generated by the "speed kills" mantra which is also simple enough for the general muppet to understand.

I do agree BUT I really don't see it happening.

Peter.

[dylancox]

Hmm.. what exactly is the problem? If they set it to 130 km/h then we'll see some adventurous folk trying out 140, 150. I obey every speed limit except 100/110 zones.. Only do the limit if there is oncoming traffic on the horizon or emergency u-turn lanes and take off when there's none. Practicalities of policing the open road isn't real economical or effective. *cough Admittedly Bel Sti works wonders *cough. Haven't had any trouble and I do countless kms on the open road.

[DBourne]

I've never understood how the hume can only be 10km faster than some dodgey country roads considering how good its visibility is.

[AlbertM]

The question is not the road conditions, it's whether you want other drivers doing 130Km/h around you.

Last time I used the Hume, 110 was to much for most people.

[prydey]

Originally Posted by AlbertM

Last time I used the Hume, 110 was to much for most people.

went for a coulple of drives during the xmas/new year period (down to victor for the sa people) and i have to say that there seems to be a lot of people that can't handle 100..... until they come to an overtaking zone, and then 100 is no problem. this road has a average amount of traffic on it this time of year so overtaking opportunities are non existant except for overtaking zones. thankfully there are quite a few of these. i can't believe the amount of people that don't use cruise control. the amount of times i got stuck behind someone doing 80-90 (its 100 most of the way) but as soon as they got to an overtaking zone they sped to 100 straight away. come the end of the zone, they back off again.

i'm a fairly patient driver so i wasn't caused to do anything rash, but there are many that do get frustrated and can't control themselves.

its not the roads that are the problem most of the time. its the wide range of attitudes of the people that drive the cars. some believe they are doing the world a favour by driving 10-20km below the limit (which reminds me, whatever happened to our mate sudszy?). others think rules and regulations don't apply so they drive 10-20 km above the limit and then those that just want to get where they are going as quickly as the law and conditions will allow. so all up, you get speed disparity of up to 40km/h which isn't ideal.

i can't see that changing any time soon.

as an aside, most of the cars that were driving slow,were new cars that are all powerful enough to do the limit and all have cruise control.

did i mention cruise control - use it people. seriously!!

[burnz]

Originally Posted by cupic

13 hrs drive from surfers to the gong,with breaks in between,Now if its 130 life would be grand but only on large safe stretches ,but then where would the revenue come from

cheers

enforce the keep left for a start, plenty of money to be made there.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by flappist

Absolutely.

I heard a story of a person who wanted to connect to the internet on a Commodore 64 with a valve black and white television as a monitor.

It was perfectly good in 1984 so it still must be able to do everything the new ones do just as well if not better.

I wonder if he would have got upset if anyone said it was a rubbish computer.

That reminds me of my Grandma, she called in the TV repairman because she thought the TV needed to be tuned after they moved house (It was damaged during the move), anyways, he comes in and has a look, tried to tune it and it didn't do anything, result was the same.

Then she starts yelling at him saying he doesn't know what he's doing and that the TV is new, she had the reciept for it in a box, dated 1977.

[kyro_02]

don't get too excited, just on the news .. and arm chair expert was saying if we made speed signs 10kph less, we'd save a bucket load of lives... please.....

[ConradP]

Originally Posted by kyro_02

don't get too excited, just on the news .. and arm chair expert was saying if we made speed signs 10kph less, we'd save a bucket load of lives... please.....

If we're talking about the same arm chair expert he said the yearly death toll would drop 30-40% if we lowered the speed limit by 10kp/h.

Guy's a super genius.

[AWD Chaser]

speedometers can be legally inaccurate by up to 10 per cent

Incorrect.
Cars built prior to 2006(?) this is true, but cars built after this date are +0%, -10%

anything over 110km/h is hooning

Couldnt help but drop the hooning "word of the decade" here.

[Falcon_Crazy]

variable please. i believe hume fwy was designed for 130km/h. travel it often. south of federal hwy would be perfect to start the 130 limit as a start.

dreamin though

[Bundy]

Originally Posted by Keepleft

Fed report into an Australian 130km/h limit.
http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roa...l_Speed_2.aspx

so by reading this and the conclusions it draws, I've got a better chance of hell freezing over before speed limits are increased here.....bugger

[Keepleft]

Originally Posted by Falcon_Crazy

variable please. i believe hume fwy was designed for 130km/h. travel it often. south of federal hwy would be perfect to start the 130 limit as a start.

dreamin though

The traffic lane widths are 3,5m, the paved median shoulder is 0,5m, the left emergency shoulder is 3,0m typically; the same as the German autobahn and other EU and ME freeway. That takes care of the typical cross-section.

But, we permit in AUS road design, descending and steeper ascending runs, tighter curve radius, and unlike Germany or EU motorway- have those rotten median located U-Turn bays- that too many treat as private intersections. Hence my previous post re treatments for the U-turn bays.

Euro car fleet and road users are used to other dynamic road system emergency items, vest, triangle, first aid kit, the requirement to have spare bulbs. We have a bit of catchup to do.

Per the ATSB report, a 130km/h limit here Hume NSW) would likely be variable.