UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Project update
M80 Capacity Improvements – Princes Freeway to Western Freeway
A ~5km or so stretch of the m80 ring road will be dropped from 100 to 80
Also, a lot of other Melbourne freeways now 80 too
Damn
Won't be long before all freeways are limited to 40
Is there plans at all to bring these speeds back up to 100?
Nothing worse than crawling along a freeway at 80 :/
I mean I think the reason is that they're removing the emergency lane and/or adding a tunnel, but just seems dumb to drop it permanently to 80 imo
Even 80 during the day, 100 late at night would be fine
I didn't even read the link, they've just done it that I've seen where I live, road hasn't changed, just speed limit dropped for no reason.
This in Melbourne?
@brendanm: Ah fair, although last time I drove in Brisbane, all the freeways were 100/110
None of this 80 rubbish lmao
@justanewone: We have basically permanent "roadworks" that are 80. I was talking about non-freeway roads though.
Oh there is a reason.
You just do not know it.
@doctordv8: I know it. They like collecting fine money, and are too lazy to bring in roadworks things when no roadwork is happening.
@brendanm: I don't know why you got downvoted. That is honestly what it feels like. I feel like those works are not going to be completed in my lifetime. If it had been a private contract, it would be been done already lol…
@shreav: I've lived on the gold coast for about 18 years now, and there has always been roadworks on the M1 😂. They like to add one lane at a time, in 500m increments haha.
Just obey the speed limits and stop complaining
Nothing anyone here can do except advise the same
Just chill out or pay the speeding fines
Imagine if you being hit by vehicle traveling at 100.
Don't forget your meds before bed tonight.
Shit, I left them at your mum's last night.
That's where you belong , in a grave 🪦
They know that victorians ignore the signs anyway..
Not when there're very money hungry fixed speed cameras on that stretch of road.
Also, anyone noticed how they have installed a crazy amount of speeding camera just in these last two years.
Honestly, i'd have much more support for speed cameras if they raised speed limits where appropriate on good roads
Eg the hume highway from Melbourne to Sydney can easily and safely be 130
Safe for SOME drivers. Its only been designed and built for 110km/h.
"Its only been designed and built for 110km/h."
Got a source? Admittedly I don't have any first hand evidence it's built for doing 130, but i've been on a number of motorways in Europe which are nowhere near as good but they're 130
@justanewone: Thats how they build roads. They know the speed limit. They design the curves to suit with sight distances and banking. On and off ramp lengths also designed to suit a particular speed.
@Murkymerv: I'm saying that if those countries can have 130 zones on freeways there's no reason we can't too (ie on the hume)
You don't need to be be rude about it?
Surely it was designed and built when cars were a lot less safe than they are now?
@bawdygeorge: "More safe" in what way? The important part is handling, whereas safety improvements are things like crumple-zones, airbags, etc. Basically, the highways are designed with ability to safely manoeuvre cars at the posted speeds, whereas safety improvements over time are largely to do with ability for occupants to survive crashes.
Gotta make up for all that lost revenue during Covid.
Thanks for stating the obvious truth !
there is a speed camera just above Boundary road exit both ways ready to issue fines. :(
Hasn't that one always been there though?
yeah it has been there for ages. just mentioned it due to new speed limit and people will be breaching it (forgetting about it).
The Autobahn with no speed limits is the safest road in the world, this is just a measure to raise more revenue.
In Germany, you only have to make €66,760 (a little over $100k AUD) before you start being taxed at over 40%.
In Australia, to be taxed over 40% would require you to make over $190k.
https://www.expatrio.com/about-germany/german-tax-system#wha…?
https://www.ato.gov.au/tax-rates-and-codes/tax-rates-austral…
So it is safe to say the people over there pay a lot more tax, which allows the government to do things like building a very high quality motorway with no speed limit.
Any Australian politician who proposes even small tax rises for anyone is guaranteed to never hold any substantial position in any government. I'm sure I don't need to go into detail about this sort of stuff.
Even indexing the current tax brackets to inflation makes politicians unhappy, since that is the only way they can stealthily increase taxes (i.e. by not giving tax cuts in line with inflation) without being murdered in the media.
I don't even have a problem with speed cameras, I just think they should raise the speed limits on roads where appropriate, and not constantly change speed limits every few km
Eg 130 on the hume between Melbourne/Sydney would be a good start
"building a very high quality motorway with no speed limit."
Admittedly i've never driven in Germany, but i've driven on the French Autoroutes (130 limit) and they're honestly built worse than roads like the hume
Germans are also apparently very good at following road rules. Id hate to see an open limit on our motorways with the amount of imbeciles that cant keep left unless overtaking and cant change lanes properly in traffic.
Never driven in Germany so can't comment for the first part, but i'd agree with your second point
I can confirm the Germans are sooooo much better at keeping to the correct lane and doing a decent speed on the 'bahn. But I still overtook them all anyway.
Can confirm Australian roads are not built to the same standard at German Autobahn roads. I drove 5000km around Germany, Austria, etc last year. Germans are sticklers for the road rules and generally drive to a very high standard. And the process to get a drivers licence there costs a couple of thousand odd Euro. Despite common belief, not all sections of the Autobahn have a derestricted speed limit. Only a small percentage of the network does not have a limit and the rest is limited to either 120 or 130km/h. On the derestricted sections the average speed of drivers is around 120-130km/h anyway.
The sections that are derestricted have three lanes each way separated by a large safety barrier, the line markings are very clear and bright, the lanes and both road shoulders are wide and the safety barriers are better designed. The road surfaces are also kept immaculate. No pot holes and if there is slight imperfection in the surface they will reduce the speed for a kilometre or so either side to slow traffic over the defect.
There is no comparison between Australian and German road designs and driver behaviour/training. They are in a completely different league.
They are, particularly on the Autobahns. Germans stick right in the centre of their lanes, and move very predictably when changing lanes and merging etc. And they are very good at keeping out of the left (fast) lane when they’re not overtaking or doing 130km/h+. Obviously there are exceptions, but you honestly see basically no erratic behaviour at all.
Germany total land area - 357,600 km2
Australia total land area - 7,688,287km2
Hmmm.
Our roads are mostly fine to do more than 100/110 on. They were fine to do those speeds in the old jalopies of yesteryear, the vehicles of today are far more capable. We may need to actually teach people to drive though.
Our roads are mostly fine to do more than 100/110 on. They were fine to do those speeds in the old jalopies of yesteryear, the vehicles of today are far more capable. We may need to actually teach people to drive though.
We do have special speed limits for learner and provisional drivers (90 for all, from memory, used to be 80 for Ls), but I guess there isn't always a guarantee that every driver will accumulate enough skill + experience in that time to be able to safely drive at 130.
And do you know the costs to build and maintain the road to support such speeds ?
It's definitely not the safest road in the world, that's just political bullshit/uneducated statements.
Stats have shown that the fatalities on Autobahn are higher than on speed-limited highways in Germany, and there are a bunch of other factors influencing those numbers (no cyclists/pedestrians on the autobahn, bad drivers may be too scared to drive it Etc.) which suggest the safety is actually below average generally.
I'm not sure reducing speed to 80km/h here does much for safety, but I do know an uncapped speed limit would raise fatalities and serious injuries significantly. You do need a balance.
Won't be long before all freeways are limited to 40
That not at all being alarmist/conspiracy theorist is it? 80 isnt 'crawling along' either. 80 is probably more efficient when theres lots of traffic. It is clu terintuitive, but lowering speed limits in heavy traffic can actually make it flow better.
I dont know that road at all. There will be a reason its been dropped, probably too many numbskulls causing crashes. Maybe it should be a variable limit. 8o when lots of traffic, 100 other times.
80 isn't crawling along in peak hour traffic, but late at night surely it can be put up to 100
80 means 60 in the right lane for all the weekend drivers
When there's speed cameras everywhere and constantly changing speed limits can you really blame them?
Honestly I have no problems with speed cameras, just raise speed limits where appropriate
Eg the hume highway from Melbourne to Sydney can easily and safely be raised to 130
I recently used the motorway between brisbane and gold coast several times. Changing limits was a pain in the butt. It would be better to be 10k lower but consistent.
@justanewone: Maybe it was just the roadworks, but it changes a few times closer to the city centre. Was just my perception that it changed a lot.
On top of that i dont think 4 lanes makes it any better there either. People just dont keep left and end up filling all 4 lanes with probably similar to 3 lanes worth of capacity when keeping left unless overtaking.
Also, urban road speed limits should probably be reduced too - except arterial roads. Higher speed limits pretty much only benefit individuals when there no traffic. Everyone outside the car is better off with a lower limit.
You can thank Comrade Andrews for this
Yep, because a road sign is going to stop those that want to speed excessively…
If anything slower speeds will make drivers more distracted as they check to make sure the speedo is constantly around the number. The environment should match the speed. This is why police love setting up on dual/triple lane carriageways that have a 60kmh limit.
Supposedly they're doing it because they're removing the emergency lanes to add an extra lane (and possibly adding a tunnel too)
But honestly it's just dumb
Like you said, lower speeds just dumb down drivers
Drivers are already dumb enough. Slowing down just adds extra time for getting distracted.
"slowing down just adds extra time for getting distracted"
Eh do you mean this in a good way or bad way?
Over the 5km section, if you drive at 100km/h it takes 3 minutes.
At 80km/h it takes 3 minutes and 45 seconds.
That assumes you can do the speed limit through the entire 5km. I have driven that road a lot and I can tell you that it isn't very often that you can. Especially with the amount traffic on all roads at present. Maybe between 10pm and 5am you could. But it takes a maximum of 45 seconds extra time to keep the speed limit fixed. There is also the traffic merging/splitting from/onto the Princes Fwy and West Gate Fwy onto the Ring Rd at the southern end and Western Fwy traffic merging/exiting onto/from the Ring Rd at the northern end. Plus traffic entering and exiting the services both north and south bound in the middle of all this.
I am generally not in favour of dropping speed limits unless there is good reason for it. In this case though, there is a lot going on in a short space of time and the time penalty is minimal so I can sort of understand why they are making the change.
That's fine if everyone did 80 - but when it's 80, most of the time I find people do 65-75.
You can thank all the speed cameras for that
So if its 100 limit 'everyone' will be going 85-95 so its still only going to be 45 seconds slower.
Nothing worse than crawling along a freeway at 80 :/
Yes there is, working on fixing a freeway as idiots zoom by at 110+
Well the usual speed limit for the ring road is 100, so 110+ really isn't that bad/dangerous
The real question is why removing an emergency lane onto a freeway always means they drop it from 100 to 80 :/
Well the usual speed limit for the ring road is 100, so 110+ really isn't that bad/dangerous
Sure, lets see you slap on your hi vis vest and go repair the road as people whiz by at 110!
The real question is why removing an emergency lane onto a freeway always means they drop it from 100 to 80 :/
There are 'rules' around speed zones and what they need etc. Having an emergency lane is one of them for higher speeds, as by law you can’t stop on a freeway unless it is an emergency and if so, you must use the emergency lane if you need to stop.
"There are 'rules' around speed zones and what they need etc. Having an emergency lane is one of them for higher speeds."
Sure, but I guess the real question is why they even remove the emergency lane
Freeways without emergency lanes is like a shower without soap
Sure, but I guess the real question is why they even remove the emergency lane
Can't be the 'real' question, as your question before it was the 'real' question.
Freeways without emergency lanes is like a shower without soap
Can't have a freeway without a emergency lane, so your statement doesn't make sense.
@justanewone: Probably because the general public tend to think more lanes is more better for traffic.
If there is a breakdown and no emergency lane, then its a bad time. If theres a crash a no emergency lane, then no ambulance means its a really bad time.
Just out of interest, here are some stats on the road toll in Australia. Deaths have slightly increased the past few years but there is a huge overall trend downwards.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_motor_vehicle_deaths_i…
Sure, but I highly doubt dropping 100 zones to 80 zones on freeways drops the road toll lol
Germany has the autobahn but still has a lower road toll than Australia IIRC
When there's not enough people going over the speed limit for the cameras, they just drop the speed limit. Perfect plan.
Which is why I reckon it won't be long before all freeways are limited to 40 :/
Imagine hopping in a time machine, heading back to 1999, and telling a group of people that in 25 years, most freeways in major Australian cities will be 80 km/h (among many other things). They’d probably laugh and say, "Not a chance."
Fast forward another 20 years and further revenue-raising changes/tweaks on freeways won’t be high on our agendas IMO.
Protip: fixed speed cameras don't work when there are "temporary" speed changes.
So speed away!
fixed speed cameras don't work when there are "temporary" speed changes.
That's not correct. The fixed cameras are linked to whatever speed is on the electronic speed signs… so they will still get you!
"That's not correct. The fixed cameras are linked to whatever speed is on the electronic speed signs… so they will still get you!"
Yeah this too
""temporary" speed changes."
If only it was temporary
They already confirmed it was permanent :/
I know I’m going to get negged for this because somehow I invented maths and pointing out anything in maths is my fault appparently…
Please note, I am not stating any opinion this matter, just pointing out the maths aspect of moving from a 100km/h zone to an 80km/h zone.
A ~5km or so stretch of the m80 ring road will be dropped from 100 to 80
5km @ 80km/h = 3min 45sec
5km @ 100km/h = 3mins
Round trip would cost an extra 1min 30sec
Weekly (5 day work week, round trip) would cost an extra 7min 30sec
Yearly (5 day work week, round trip) 390 mins or 6hr 30min extra travelling time.
That's true, but the real question is why they're removing the emergency lane and thus dropping it from 100 to 80
Nothing worse than crawling along a freeway at 80 :/
During peak times, you can often only do 80 anyway. It is only non-peak times where doing 80 is annoying.
"It is only non-peak times where doing 80 is annoying."
Well yeah, which is why a variable speed limit would be a much better idea imo
I'll be devil's advocate here and say the reason they've lowered it to 80 is in the hopes it'll lead to fewer crashes, which should, in turn, lead to fewer delays overall. At least, that's the only logical reasoning I can see.
Sure, but really if people can't drive safely at 100kmh on a freeway without crashing then that really does say something about the quality of drivers here in Australia
It is regularly shown that Aussie drivers cannot safely travel at 100. Every day there are multiple crashes on motorways.
Yup, people just don't give enough space at high speeds. Then you have the phantom traffic issues and it only takes 1 person to break a moment too late to then cause that ripple down the line, and one of those will almost certainly rear-end the person in front due to the aforementioned reason.
I've seen more crashes below 50kph so faster = less crashes right?
Eventually, the speed limit will go into the negative and we'll have to drive our cars in reverse! ;-)
More people and cars ( and accidents ) , less speed .
If you don't like it , vote for lower population …
I mean I voted for the pro Abortion parties. Doing my part
When there are no construction going on speed shud be 100kmh, and not 80!
Think of all the puppies and children that are being saved by this measure that has been introduced purely for safety.