November 13, 2025 • 15 mins
Today we’re diving into a topic that’s been getting a lot of attention this week - lower speed limits.
We'll look at the rollout of new 40km/h zones out the front of more than 150 schools, and the propsal to reduce limits for unsigned open roads.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Art Essay. Hi, I'm Jackie Lum with iHeart Essay. Today
we're diving into a topic that's been sparking plenty of
debate across South Australia in the last few weeks. Lower
speed limits from the roll out of new forty kilometer
per hour zones out the front of more than one
hundred and fifty schools to reduce limits being proposed by
the federal government for unsigned open roads. So what's behind
(00:24):
this push to slow things down? In this episode, we'll
look at what's driving the changes, how communities are responding,
and what it could mean for the future of road
safety in say. A community survey wrapped up earlier this
week which asked country residents to weigh in on speed
limits dropping from one hundred k's on roads outside built
up areas and the introduction of separate limits for unsealed
(00:45):
or gravel roads. Our reporter Chris Gascott spoke to Federal
Liberal Member for Gray Tom Venning about the proposal from
the Labour government and how it would affect.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Locals going a Hello from the pink Rota Ernadada.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
Yes, I was about to ask you he're on your
way to the Apyland what are you doing up there today?
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Farllow of the role. I'm just business as many community
as I can. This electrics ninety two percent of South
Australia's I've said a lot of time on the road
to understand some issues out here and how I can
advocate for them in camera.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
Fair enough safe travels, of course, So this proposal seventy
k is an hour sealed and unsealed roads. And imagine you're
noune too pleased about it.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
No, not at all. And I've been getting having constituents
reached out to my office every day very frustrated with
this proposal. And you know, out in regional rule remote
South Australia, we don't want slower roads, we want safer roads.
And I think this proposal is an admission from this
government that they have not been looking after our regional roads.
You know, try and find me one person that says
(01:40):
that the roads in their area have been looked after.
And so it's pretty disappointing that this is the potential outcome.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
And part of what you had outlined within a media
list that I received from you and your team was
that there is even doubts potentially within labor but this
might go through. If you were to give it a
score out of one to ten, how confident would you
be that could end up going through.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
Well, it's a very good question. I think there's probably
a fifty percent change. I think there's been a huge
backlash on this. I would be I'll be very disappointed
if it does go through. Now you're right to say
before that the submissions have closed, but there will be
another round of permissions if this is ever legislated. So
you know, I encourage everyone to reach out to their
(02:21):
local MPs and then d the government and put your
two cents worth in and oppose this piece of legislation.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
Within this the main topic is still road infrastructure and
making sure we're working towards the best solutions and to
try to figure out how to address the backlog that's
in place. What is the best way to go around it?
Is it is simply reprioritizing putting money into it. Is
it as simple as that.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
Well, it's government's taking a lot of federal money out
of regional sub Australia.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
You know.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
The few things that have happened, you know, prior to
this government in twenty twenty two, there was a rule
in Regional sub Australia that eighty percent of the road
funding would come from the federal government and the funding
would come from the state government. Well, our prominents have
changed the change the goalposts and it's fifty to fifty downs.
But that means our premier has to cough up fifty
percent of the cost and there just isn't the money there.
(03:10):
A lot of the infrastructure money is going into the
tunnel since in Thelod that are costing fifteen billion dollars.
Now we just want a portion of that. And so,
you know, we recognize that the road toll and regional
South Australia is too high and Regional Australia in general actually,
and so the government have come up with this proposal
that they want to reduce the speed limits or from
(03:31):
from one hundred qumeters out of seventy. Well that's an
admission that you know, our roads are not safe and
rather than fixing them, we're just going to reduce some
speed limit. And you know we really want to reduce
the road total zero but reduce it down to five
klubters per. This is how ridiculous this idea is.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
It seems to be a hot topic at the moment.
We changed speeds coming into effect for several school zones
this week and many more will follow. Suit Minister for
Police Splare Boyer joins us to explain what's changing, why
it matters, and how it will help protect kids going
in and out of school.
Speaker 4 (04:00):
This is part of an effort that government is making
a course to lower the road toll, but also to
lower the road toll in terms of pedestrians and specifically
for areas around schools, which we know can often be
hot spots for incidents between motorists and pedestrians and often
really young kids. I mean you could be talking about
a reception or Grade one kids who are five, six
(04:22):
or seven years of age. Those areas around school over
the last few decades have really got busier because unfortunately,
the number of people who get school under their own steam,
whether they're walking or riding a pushbike, is still dropping,
which is another whole issue. But what we know in
terms of the feedback that we've had from schools, and
this is true of regional schools as well, that even
if they might have a what's called the pedestrian actuated crossing,
(04:45):
so traffic lights and you hit the button and it
stops cars and you wait for the green man and
you cross. The issue is on some busy roads outside
schools that have those when the light is red and
if a motorist disobeys the red light and runs it
through the intersection. They are doing that often at sixty
or more kilometers an hour, which poses a real risk
(05:06):
to any children or adults who might be trying to cross.
So reducing it to forty kilometers an hour in more
than one hundred and fifty locations across South Australia by
the end of next year is about lowering that speed
between eight am and nine thirty am and two pm
and four pm on school days so that we can
(05:27):
reduce that risk and make it a safer area for
children to cross. And to do it, we're installing all
the findings that you would expect, a big flashing signs,
the first of those we unveiled in Adelaide this week,
as well as static stationary signs as well. So we
are actually the last jurisdiction of the last place in
Australia to do it. It's been done everywhere else and
(05:49):
being shown to work, so I'm confident we're doing the
right thing and it's going to result in saving lives
or at the very least stop some of those serious
injuries that occur when I'm a car hits the pedestrian.
Speaker 1 (06:01):
Yeah, and imagine that horrible accident out in the front
of Marriotville prompted some action, and of course that's one
of the first cabs off the rank. So, yeah, that
horrible incident where it was you know, the truck driver
claimed that they just couldn't see the lights because of
the tree in the way, you know, or just the
really bright sun sometimes as well makes things a little
bit harder. So just lowering it for everyone, I guess,
(06:22):
is the exactly idea.
Speaker 4 (06:24):
That's exactly right. And we know, you know, all the
data we have on accidents, which is a lot, shows
that you just reduce that speed by a little bit.
You know, the distance you need to stop can sort
of drop off exponentially. So you wipe off twenty kilometers
off your speed from sixty to forty. The distance you
then need to become totally stationary when you hit the
brakes is greatly reduced. And you know, the difference of
(06:46):
a few meters can be the difference in saving a life,
And that was what we saw at Marriottville in terms
of that really serious accident. It's situations like that where
we want to reduce the speed of the motor vehicle
that's involved in that incident, bid to stop someone being
hurt or worse still, stop someone being killed.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
Can you explain how these new time based speed limits
differ from the existing twenty five for caper our school zones.
Speaker 4 (07:10):
So, whether it's the twenty five kilometer an hour which
are normally on council roads as opposed to where we're
announcing these more than one hundred and fifty which are
on state roads. The twenty five kilometer an hour zones
will stay, they're not being removed, but we are adding
these additional forty kilometer zones in some places as well,
so motorists will be used to the twenty five kilometer
an hour zones. They stayed the same, but they will
(07:33):
see signage installed flashing led signs that flash forty kilometers
an hour up between eight and nine point thirty and
two and four. Outside of those hours, and when it's
not a school day, those signs are blank. I've seen
the first ones, as you said, Marriott Bill, that we
commenced this week and then one on Goodwood Road as well.
(07:53):
You'd be hard pressed to miss these signs. They are
very big and very bright and flashing as well, so
that's a good thing as people get used to these
zones being in place, and we progressively roll them out,
starting with twenty sixes this year and then the remaining
that gets us up to more than one hundred and
fifty by the end of next year. But for those
twenty five o'clometer an hour zone that motoris are used to,
(08:14):
we are keeping those.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
We'll have more from Minister for Police Blair Boyer after
the break, I heard essoy, my heart, essoy, welcome back.
Let's jump back into that chat with Minister Blair Boyer
as he lets us know which regional areas will be
first off the ranks for these new school zone limits.
Speaker 4 (08:35):
Jamestown, Klangadoo Primary, Loxton High School, Mount Compass Area School,
murray Bridge, nan Nuri, Oakbank, burry Port, Lincoln Robe, Mount Gambia,
Wakeery and Williamstown. They will be next year. They're in
the list for next year, not not this year, but
they will know it won't be long before they are
(08:57):
online as well and will being out the signage well,
and truly in advance, so people can see that we've
got a public awareness campaign that started as well, so
I can certainly say we are not just doing this
in the city. We are making sure we've looked at
regional sites as well, because they can be equally equally
dangerous and pureing us too. You know, in country areas
(09:20):
sometimes people I think become a little bit more lave
a potentially when they're passing a school. So I think
it's just as important that we're doing this work at
those sites as well to lower that speed at those
eight to nine point thirty and two to four school
day times down to forty So.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
How are we going to know? Is it going to
be any different because there's different traffic patterns, like you say,
in the region, So is there going to be any
different plan of attack?
Speaker 4 (09:44):
I've been asked this question a couple of times, is
why are we not doing all one hundred and fifty
plus straight away? And there's two answers to that question.
One is that it's a lot of work to install
the signage make sure we get it right, But there's
also a really important process that we go through beforehand
to consult with the school and make sure that we
get the actual zone where the forty kilometers are now
(10:06):
will apply right, so we understand traffic patterns in the
area because every site is different and some sites have
and I know this is Education Minister has sort of
multiple points where parents tend to enter, so I want
to make sure we get that right and also make
sure that we sort of roll it out progressively as
people get used to what's a pretty big change. But yes,
(10:27):
every site is looked at individually and individual work is
done at every site to get it right, and that
will be true of regional sites too. We are not
doing a cookie cutter approach because they can all be
different and.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
I guess, like you say, it's a double whammy for
you being both Education Minister and Minister for Police. So
this is a particular area of focus. So for example,
if a school site wanted the additional safety and they
wanted to provide feedback and say we want to be
included in this, how do they go about doing that?
Speaker 4 (10:54):
They should definitely get in touch with me. But it's
an enormous number of sites and not just public schools
but non governments schools as well that we have on
the list and some others that we're looking at that
in the first round of one hundred and fifty plus
we thought probably didn't need these. It's about twelve on
that list, but we are working with them now individually
to make sure that we've got that right and if
(11:14):
not then we will change our decision. But any those
schools or people from those school communities who might be
listening to this should reach out. And you're right, as
Minister for Education and Police, this is a particular area
of importance to me, and I know even in places
where we have had pedestrian actuated crossings installed, so a
light outside a school installed at the request of the school,
(11:37):
we have then had feedback that they have been concerned
that traffic is now going past at sixty kilometers an hour,
whereas previously it was a lower speed, although there weren't
traffic lights to stop the vehicles, which means when some
motorists are doing the wrong thing and running the lights,
there's a really high risk that they actually hit someone
crossing at sixty or more kilumns an hour, and they
(11:59):
have for this work to be done. So I've heard
that as a local member and as the Education minister,
and I'm pleased that now as the police Minister, I
get to actually do something about it.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
And of course as well, there's a bit of a
push that seems to be the flavor of the week
actually with people getting involved. And there was actually a
survey released about lowering speed limits on unsealed roads and
all of that down to seventy instead of the standard
one hundred if it's unsigned. Do you have anything to
say about that and how that might affect our regional
roads in particular.
Speaker 4 (12:27):
And someone who grew up in the country, well, don'tually
know how country people feel about speed limits on their roads,
know it very very well. I think the important thing
here with the survey work is actually talking to communities
instead of just making decisions without consulting them about what
they want. And often communities have their own pretty accurate
and informed views around where danger spots in the area are,
(12:49):
whether a speed limit is safe at the level it is,
or whether it needs to be dropped, and I think
we've got to do a good job of listening to
communities who know those roads well. But I also know
because it was into me as a kid when I
got my license and was learning to drive, the old
saying was country people die on country roads. There used
to be this kind of misnomer that the people who
(13:10):
came and had accidents on regional roads where people from
out of the area who didn't know the road. The
crash data actually shows that that's not necessarily true. It's
often local people that happens too. So this kind of
stuff's important. We want to get the road toll down.
I think again we can become a bit blase a
in terms of road toll figures, but behind each of
those deaths and serious injuries, there is a really traumatic
(13:33):
story that stays with the people in the family members
for the rest of their lives. And we've got to
remember that that each one of those lives saved is
a lifetime of trauma for those people around them that
we can avoid. So that's what I'm focused on as
the Minister for Road Safety, and the opportunity to do
some of this work, specifically at school sites as Education minister.
(13:54):
It makes me really pleased.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
So you're on board with the federal government push then
with this. We have spoken to Members Gray Tom Venning
and they seem to be opposed to it, you know,
slowing it down to as much as seventy seems to
be extreme from their point of view, so.
Speaker 4 (14:10):
I'd want to see that survey data and see and
see exactly what's proposed first. As I said, it's important
we listen to regional communities in these processes as well.
I want to make sure that we do that so
it's always. As I said, I know from growing up
on a farm in a country area, people feel very
strongly about speed limits in their areas because they do
travel long distances, and I know that. You know, people
(14:33):
who live in the city often don't understand the distance
the country people often drive to take kids to school,
to go to play sport, to go to work. You know,
they don't understand that they're clocking up a lot of caves.
So that stuff is very important to regional communities. What
I want to make sure we do is actually listen
to them and make decisions with them.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
I see it for this week, don't forget you can
hear iHeart Essay and the iHeart app or wherever you
get your podcasts. I'm Jackie Lim. Join us again next
week for more of the stories you want to hear.
I Heard Essay the Voice of South Australia. I Heart essay,
Art Essay. Hi, I'm Jackie Lum with iHeart Essay. Today
we're diving into a topic that's been sparking plenty of
debate across South Australia in the last few weeks. Lower
speed limits from the roll out of new forty kilometer
per hour zones out the front of more than one
hundred and fifty schools to reduce limits being proposed by
the federal government for unsigned open roads. So what's behind
(00:24):
this push to slow things down? In this episode, we'll
look at what's driving the changes, how communities are responding,
and what it could mean for the future of road
safety in say. A community survey wrapped up earlier this
week which asked country residents to weigh in on speed
limits dropping from one hundred k's on roads outside built
up areas and the introduction of separate limits for unsealed
(00:45):
or gravel roads. Our reporter Chris Gascott spoke to Federal
Liberal Member for Gray Tom Venning about the proposal from
the Labour government and how it would affect.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Locals going a Hello from the pink Rota Ernadada.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
Yes, I was about to ask you he're on your
way to the Apyland what are you doing up there today?
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Farllow of the role. I'm just business as many community
as I can. This electrics ninety two percent of South
Australia's I've said a lot of time on the road
to understand some issues out here and how I can
advocate for them in camera.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
Fair enough safe travels, of course, So this proposal seventy
k is an hour sealed and unsealed roads. And imagine you're
noune too pleased about it.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
No, not at all. And I've been getting having constituents
reached out to my office every day very frustrated with
this proposal. And you know, out in regional rule remote
South Australia, we don't want slower roads, we want safer roads.
And I think this proposal is an admission from this
government that they have not been looking after our regional roads.
You know, try and find me one person that says
(01:40):
that the roads in their area have been looked after.
And so it's pretty disappointing that this is the potential outcome.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
And part of what you had outlined within a media
list that I received from you and your team was
that there is even doubts potentially within labor but this
might go through. If you were to give it a
score out of one to ten, how confident would you
be that could end up going through.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
Well, it's a very good question. I think there's probably
a fifty percent change. I think there's been a huge
backlash on this. I would be I'll be very disappointed
if it does go through. Now you're right to say
before that the submissions have closed, but there will be
another round of permissions if this is ever legislated. So
you know, I encourage everyone to reach out to their
(02:21):
local MPs and then d the government and put your
two cents worth in and oppose this piece of legislation.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
Within this the main topic is still road infrastructure and
making sure we're working towards the best solutions and to
try to figure out how to address the backlog that's
in place. What is the best way to go around it?
Is it is simply reprioritizing putting money into it. Is
it as simple as that.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
Well, it's government's taking a lot of federal money out
of regional sub Australia.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
You know.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
The few things that have happened, you know, prior to
this government in twenty twenty two, there was a rule
in Regional sub Australia that eighty percent of the road
funding would come from the federal government and the funding
would come from the state government. Well, our prominents have
changed the change the goalposts and it's fifty to fifty downs.
But that means our premier has to cough up fifty
percent of the cost and there just isn't the money there.
(03:10):
A lot of the infrastructure money is going into the
tunnel since in Thelod that are costing fifteen billion dollars.
Now we just want a portion of that. And so,
you know, we recognize that the road toll and regional
South Australia is too high and Regional Australia in general actually,
and so the government have come up with this proposal
that they want to reduce the speed limits or from
(03:31):
from one hundred qumeters out of seventy. Well that's an
admission that you know, our roads are not safe and
rather than fixing them, we're just going to reduce some
speed limit. And you know we really want to reduce
the road total zero but reduce it down to five
klubters per. This is how ridiculous this idea is.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
It seems to be a hot topic at the moment.
We changed speeds coming into effect for several school zones
this week and many more will follow. Suit Minister for
Police Splare Boyer joins us to explain what's changing, why
it matters, and how it will help protect kids going
in and out of school.
Speaker 4 (04:00):
This is part of an effort that government is making
a course to lower the road toll, but also to
lower the road toll in terms of pedestrians and specifically
for areas around schools, which we know can often be
hot spots for incidents between motorists and pedestrians and often
really young kids. I mean you could be talking about
a reception or Grade one kids who are five, six
(04:22):
or seven years of age. Those areas around school over
the last few decades have really got busier because unfortunately,
the number of people who get school under their own steam,
whether they're walking or riding a pushbike, is still dropping,
which is another whole issue. But what we know in
terms of the feedback that we've had from schools, and
this is true of regional schools as well, that even
if they might have a what's called the pedestrian actuated crossing,
(04:45):
so traffic lights and you hit the button and it
stops cars and you wait for the green man and
you cross. The issue is on some busy roads outside
schools that have those when the light is red and
if a motorist disobeys the red light and runs it
through the intersection. They are doing that often at sixty
or more kilometers an hour, which poses a real risk
(05:06):
to any children or adults who might be trying to cross.
So reducing it to forty kilometers an hour in more
than one hundred and fifty locations across South Australia by
the end of next year is about lowering that speed
between eight am and nine thirty am and two pm
and four pm on school days so that we can
(05:27):
reduce that risk and make it a safer area for
children to cross. And to do it, we're installing all
the findings that you would expect, a big flashing signs,
the first of those we unveiled in Adelaide this week,
as well as static stationary signs as well. So we
are actually the last jurisdiction of the last place in
Australia to do it. It's been done everywhere else and
(05:49):
being shown to work, so I'm confident we're doing the
right thing and it's going to result in saving lives
or at the very least stop some of those serious
injuries that occur when I'm a car hits the pedestrian.
Speaker 1 (06:01):
Yeah, and imagine that horrible accident out in the front
of Marriotville prompted some action, and of course that's one
of the first cabs off the rank. So, yeah, that
horrible incident where it was you know, the truck driver
claimed that they just couldn't see the lights because of
the tree in the way, you know, or just the
really bright sun sometimes as well makes things a little
bit harder. So just lowering it for everyone, I guess,
(06:22):
is the exactly idea.
Speaker 4 (06:24):
That's exactly right. And we know, you know, all the
data we have on accidents, which is a lot, shows
that you just reduce that speed by a little bit.
You know, the distance you need to stop can sort
of drop off exponentially. So you wipe off twenty kilometers
off your speed from sixty to forty. The distance you
then need to become totally stationary when you hit the
brakes is greatly reduced. And you know, the difference of
(06:46):
a few meters can be the difference in saving a life,
And that was what we saw at Marriottville in terms
of that really serious accident. It's situations like that where
we want to reduce the speed of the motor vehicle
that's involved in that incident, bid to stop someone being
hurt or worse still, stop someone being killed.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
Can you explain how these new time based speed limits
differ from the existing twenty five for caper our school zones.
Speaker 4 (07:10):
So, whether it's the twenty five kilometer an hour which
are normally on council roads as opposed to where we're
announcing these more than one hundred and fifty which are
on state roads. The twenty five kilometer an hour zones
will stay, they're not being removed, but we are adding
these additional forty kilometer zones in some places as well,
so motorists will be used to the twenty five kilometer
an hour zones. They stayed the same, but they will
(07:33):
see signage installed flashing led signs that flash forty kilometers
an hour up between eight and nine point thirty and
two and four. Outside of those hours, and when it's
not a school day, those signs are blank. I've seen
the first ones, as you said, Marriott Bill, that we
commenced this week and then one on Goodwood Road as well.
(07:53):
You'd be hard pressed to miss these signs. They are
very big and very bright and flashing as well, so
that's a good thing as people get used to these
zones being in place, and we progressively roll them out,
starting with twenty sixes this year and then the remaining
that gets us up to more than one hundred and
fifty by the end of next year. But for those
twenty five o'clometer an hour zone that motoris are used to,
(08:14):
we are keeping those.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
We'll have more from Minister for Police Blair Boyer after
the break, I heard essoy, my heart, essoy, welcome back.
Let's jump back into that chat with Minister Blair Boyer
as he lets us know which regional areas will be
first off the ranks for these new school zone limits.
Speaker 4 (08:35):
Jamestown, Klangadoo Primary, Loxton High School, Mount Compass Area School,
murray Bridge, nan Nuri, Oakbank, burry Port, Lincoln Robe, Mount Gambia,
Wakeery and Williamstown. They will be next year. They're in
the list for next year, not not this year, but
they will know it won't be long before they are
(08:57):
online as well and will being out the signage well,
and truly in advance, so people can see that we've
got a public awareness campaign that started as well, so
I can certainly say we are not just doing this
in the city. We are making sure we've looked at
regional sites as well, because they can be equally equally
dangerous and pureing us too. You know, in country areas
(09:20):
sometimes people I think become a little bit more lave
a potentially when they're passing a school. So I think
it's just as important that we're doing this work at
those sites as well to lower that speed at those
eight to nine point thirty and two to four school
day times down to forty So.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
How are we going to know? Is it going to
be any different because there's different traffic patterns, like you say,
in the region, So is there going to be any
different plan of attack?
Speaker 4 (09:44):
I've been asked this question a couple of times, is
why are we not doing all one hundred and fifty
plus straight away? And there's two answers to that question.
One is that it's a lot of work to install
the signage make sure we get it right, But there's
also a really important process that we go through beforehand
to consult with the school and make sure that we
get the actual zone where the forty kilometers are now
(10:06):
will apply right, so we understand traffic patterns in the
area because every site is different and some sites have
and I know this is Education Minister has sort of
multiple points where parents tend to enter, so I want
to make sure we get that right and also make
sure that we sort of roll it out progressively as
people get used to what's a pretty big change. But yes,
(10:27):
every site is looked at individually and individual work is
done at every site to get it right, and that
will be true of regional sites too. We are not
doing a cookie cutter approach because they can all be
different and.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
I guess, like you say, it's a double whammy for
you being both Education Minister and Minister for Police. So
this is a particular area of focus. So for example,
if a school site wanted the additional safety and they
wanted to provide feedback and say we want to be
included in this, how do they go about doing that?
Speaker 4 (10:54):
They should definitely get in touch with me. But it's
an enormous number of sites and not just public schools
but non governments schools as well that we have on
the list and some others that we're looking at that
in the first round of one hundred and fifty plus
we thought probably didn't need these. It's about twelve on
that list, but we are working with them now individually
to make sure that we've got that right and if
(11:14):
not then we will change our decision. But any those
schools or people from those school communities who might be
listening to this should reach out. And you're right, as
Minister for Education and Police, this is a particular area
of importance to me, and I know even in places
where we have had pedestrian actuated crossings installed, so a
light outside a school installed at the request of the school,
(11:37):
we have then had feedback that they have been concerned
that traffic is now going past at sixty kilometers an hour,
whereas previously it was a lower speed, although there weren't
traffic lights to stop the vehicles, which means when some
motorists are doing the wrong thing and running the lights,
there's a really high risk that they actually hit someone
crossing at sixty or more kilumns an hour, and they
(11:59):
have for this work to be done. So I've heard
that as a local member and as the Education minister,
and I'm pleased that now as the police Minister, I
get to actually do something about it.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
And of course as well, there's a bit of a
push that seems to be the flavor of the week
actually with people getting involved. And there was actually a
survey released about lowering speed limits on unsealed roads and
all of that down to seventy instead of the standard
one hundred if it's unsigned. Do you have anything to
say about that and how that might affect our regional
roads in particular.
Speaker 4 (12:27):
And someone who grew up in the country, well, don'tually
know how country people feel about speed limits on their roads,
know it very very well. I think the important thing
here with the survey work is actually talking to communities
instead of just making decisions without consulting them about what
they want. And often communities have their own pretty accurate
and informed views around where danger spots in the area are,
(12:49):
whether a speed limit is safe at the level it is,
or whether it needs to be dropped, and I think
we've got to do a good job of listening to
communities who know those roads well. But I also know
because it was into me as a kid when I
got my license and was learning to drive, the old
saying was country people die on country roads. There used
to be this kind of misnomer that the people who
(13:10):
came and had accidents on regional roads where people from
out of the area who didn't know the road. The
crash data actually shows that that's not necessarily true. It's
often local people that happens too. So this kind of
stuff's important. We want to get the road toll down.
I think again we can become a bit blase a
in terms of road toll figures, but behind each of
those deaths and serious injuries, there is a really traumatic
(13:33):
story that stays with the people in the family members
for the rest of their lives. And we've got to
remember that that each one of those lives saved is
a lifetime of trauma for those people around them that
we can avoid. So that's what I'm focused on as
the Minister for Road Safety, and the opportunity to do
some of this work, specifically at school sites as Education minister.
(13:54):
It makes me really pleased.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
So you're on board with the federal government push then
with this. We have spoken to Members Gray Tom Venning
and they seem to be opposed to it, you know,
slowing it down to as much as seventy seems to
be extreme from their point of view, so.
Speaker 4 (14:10):
I'd want to see that survey data and see and
see exactly what's proposed first. As I said, it's important
we listen to regional communities in these processes as well.
I want to make sure that we do that so
it's always. As I said, I know from growing up
on a farm in a country area, people feel very
strongly about speed limits in their areas because they do
travel long distances, and I know that. You know, people
(14:33):
who live in the city often don't understand the distance
the country people often drive to take kids to school,
to go to play sport, to go to work. You know,
they don't understand that they're clocking up a lot of caves.
So that stuff is very important to regional communities. What
I want to make sure we do is actually listen
to them and make decisions with them.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
I see it for this week, don't forget you can
hear iHeart Essay and the iHeart app or wherever you
get your podcasts. I'm Jackie Lim. Join us again next
week for more of the stories you want to hear.
I Heard Essay the Voice of South Australia. I Heart essay,
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