A road safety charity says increasing the road speed limit to 110km/h is a bad idea, and is urging the Government to look at road safety factors.
Associate Transport Minister Craig Foss on Thursday announced the new speed limit for roads that meet the criteria.
Parts of the Auckland motorway network, the Waikato Expressway and the Tauranga Eastern Link already meet the criteria for a 110km/h speed limit, which includes median barriers, two lanes in each direction and roadside fencing.
But Brake director Caroline Perry says increasing the limit will encourage people to go even faster.
"We've got older vehicles, we've got driver errors, there are other factors involved in crashes, and increasing speed when we know that leads to bigger impacts and can lead to an increase in death and serious injuries and a likelihood of being killed or seriously injured on the road," she says.
"You've got drivers who already choose to break the speed limits, as it stands, at 100km/h. There are some drivers who would choose to break it at 110km/h, and so both breaking the law and putting lives at risk by travelling at higher speed."
Ms Perry says a majority of New Zealand's cars aren't safe enough to go 110km/h.
Newshub.
