THE EFFECT OF THE 1985 RISE IN OPEN ROAD SPEED LIMITS ON VEHICLE SPEEDS. NEW ZEALAND ROADING SYMPOSIUM 1987. VOLUME 3

On July 1st 1985, the New Zealand open road speed limits were raised, for most vehicles, by 20 km/h. This paper examines the effect these speed limit increases have had on vehicle speeds on a range of road types. It is concluded that, as a result of the speed limit increases, speeds of cars have increased on open roads of good geometric standards only, with this increase being in the vicinity of 2 km/h. It also appears that this increase has been progressive, rather than the result of a sudden jump when the limits were raised. For the covering abstract of the symposium see IRRD 810782. (Author/TRRL)