Open Speed Limits

[Timmeh]

After spending many hours on Open Speed Limited roads going from Katherine to Darwin and back in the Northern Territory, there are a few things I'd like to raise about the policy.

Driving too fast
While the idea of having open speed limits means you can't be booked for breaking a speed limit, you can be booked at the discretion of any police officer if he thinks you were driving too fast for the conditions, ie dangerously. It means you don't have any hard line in the sand you can reference yourself too, it's your opinion versus the police's.

But that's not the only issue to contend with, there are a variety of others.

Pulling onto the road
Everyone has done it. Pull up at a stop sign, check for traffic, and go when it's clear. But on open speed limited roads, especially in the areas with twists and turns, it's not always possible to see that far down the street, and it means you need to get on the road and get your vehicle up to speed rather quickly because you may have a car bearing down on you at 150kmh that you just hadn't been able to see. And on the other hand, you may come around a corner and find a vehicle who has just pulled onto the road and taking their sweet time to get up to speed, meaning a 100kmh+ differential speed to arrest in a very short time,or if you're lucky, no oncoming traffic to pass them straight away.

Animals and tyre failures
The kangaroo is a great animal, as are buffalo, and wallabies. Except when they have an impromtu meeting with your vehicle. Needless to say, the higher the speed, the worse the result. Same goes for tyre failures, so it's something to bear in mind when deciding to sit on 200kmh.

Traffic
Wouldn't an open speed limit be good if you didn't have any obstacles in the way. This is not the case though, and quite often you'll come across a Camry or a truck doing 90 kmh, and most of the Open Speed Limited road I was on was only one lane each way. So while cruising at 150kmh (a generally acceptable speed, something that other factors will determine, that I'll get into soon), you might get someone in a Falcon tear past doing 200kmh or so, but you will also come across cars you need to pass. Which isn't a huge problem, except that you consider you're doing 150 odd kmh when you approach the traffic, and the oncoming traffic is doing a similar speed - you need a long stretch of road to pass, as the vehicles are closing on each other at 300 odd kmh! The consequences of getting this one wrong are incredibly tragic and dangerous, and to the unskilled or inexperienced driver, it would prove fatal, and has before.

Unfamiliar vehicle
Road trains are another obstacle to hurdle, as they are often 4 or more trailers long, and require a much longer concerted effort to pass. Which brings me to the point about driving an unfamiliar vehicle. While I have had much experience driving a range of vehicles at 'normal' speeds, how a vehicle is going to continue accelerating past 150kmh and onwards to just get past a Road Train is not something you really want to misjudge. Experience will teach you this, but considering anyone can jump into any vehicle and hit the open speed limited roads, it's certainly soemthing people need to be wary of.

Fuel economy
This is probably the biggest thing that determines how fast people go on the road. Sure, you can leave your foot in and drive your BA XR6T at 200kmh, run the risk that the cops won't care and that you won't come across any stationary traffic or animals, and hopefully get to Darwin in only two and half hours. Problem is, you'll be going thru the fuel faster than you can put it in. Obviously some cars can handle the higher speeds better than others, any 6 speed car comes to mind. Most people find a sweet spot in their car that they are happy to sit at, that won't be chewing thru the fuel terribly, and that usually determines how fast people go. The vehicle I was in was most happy at around 150kmh, not working overly hard, just a comfortable cruise speed.

So, do I think Open Speed Limits are a good idea?

They certainly make the long distance trips shorter, you never feel tired because you are more focused on what you are doing, the drive is more enjoyable, and all is well that ends well. But the consequences are alot more serious, and it's easier to inadvertantly get yourself into trouble if you are not on the case, inexperienced, or just trying to push your luck. I am glad not all our roads back in NSW are like that, because it would be just plain dangerous, but for the traffic levels here, it seems to work for people, and has been a good learning experience.

Tim!