Greg Murphy: Road Safety Advocate on the reversal of the speed limit reductions

A Kiwi motorsport champion turned advocate says changes to speed limits are logical.  

The Coalition government's reversing speed limit reductions brought in under the previous Government, including 24-7 limits around schools.  

Its draft report's also asking for input on its Roads of National Significance, once built, catering for speeds up to 120km/h.  

Road safety campaigner Greg Murphy told Mike Hosking that a lot of Kiwis were annoyed when the speeds were lowered.  

He says a lot of the changes were knee-jerk reactions by ill-informed people who decided dropping the speeds would save a lot of lives, which didn't happen. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
So speed change coming to a lot of roads. Now,
you were also looking at the possibility now of one
hundred and twenty k's on the roads of national significant
The road safety advocate Greg Murphy back with us on
this Greg Morning Morning.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
Mike.

Speaker 1 (00:10):
Are you broadly in support of this? Yeah?

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Absolutely. I mean there was a lot of changes that
were made that we need your reactions by little informed
people that just decided that there was a we'll just
drop the speeds everywhere and we'll save a whole lot
of lives, which didn't happen. It annoyed a lot of
New Zealanders with the lack of consultation. Decisions that were
made with actually without consultation, and there was sort of

(00:38):
lots of damage that was done in that space, and
there was a lot of unnecessary changes that were made.
I believe that there is need for some change, and
I think this government realizes that. And there's around school
and the lights and and pieces. But there was a
lot of speed changes that were made that were unnecessary
and certainly weren't justified.

Speaker 1 (00:53):
When you use the word consultation, you reckon. If you
pold New Zealand as they'd back you broadly on the
sort of thing change that has come.

Speaker 2 (01:00):
Yeah, I think so absolutely. You know, I think I know,
for example, there's that there was the road state Higway
FI between Napi and Toepaul. It was put down to
eighty ks an hour, and the decisions were made, and
then the consultation papers came out and we all consulted
and put in submissions and found out later on that

(01:21):
decision was already made. It was a waste of everyone's time.
So you know, there was there was definitely stuff going
on there that it angered a lot of the community.
There was a lot of people that submitted around that,
and it was a vast majority saying leave them, leave
that speed alone. We need to do other things to
ensure better safety. But in CTA ignored that and went

(01:43):
ahead anyway. So you know, I think that, as I said,
there's a need to look at speeds in certain areas
around schools, for example, having variable speed limits. I think
the great idea should have been done to start with.
I mean, you don't want to be doing thirty k
through somewhere on weekend when there's no one around. So
you know, those kinds of things needed better work. And

(02:05):
I agree with the words that David Seymour said in
the release as well, around these kinds of things being
made that just annoy New Zealanders for no reason and
we need to do a better job of it.

Speaker 1 (02:15):
Very well said. You have a good weekend, appreciate it,
and you will have a good weekend because Supercows is
on again. Greg Murphy motor sport champion of course, road
safety advocate. For more from the Mic Asking Breakfast, listen
live to news talks that'd be from six am weekdays,
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