Queensland’s widest and best-engineered highway, the M1 from Brisbane to the Gold Coast, faces a “review” of speeds after the limit was reduced by 10km/h for the Commonwealth Games.
If such a well-built road has its speed reduced, what will happen to the rest of the roads in the state?
Already speeds have been reduced on many roads, despite vehicles becoming safer.
Crashes reduced
The reason for the review of the M1 110km/h speed limit is that the number of accidents on the road dropped while the speed was reduced.
However, it should be noted that many took public transport instead of the highway, heeding the media scare campaign about traffic jams during the Games. The result was that the Gold Coast was a virtual “ghost town”.
It should also be noted that police presence on the road was increased during the Games, resulting in more motorists observing the speed limit.
More police patrols
Perhaps rather than permanently reducing the speed limit, police should continue to patrol the road, booking motorists for blocking the right lane and trucks for not using the two left lanes.
Transport Minister Mark Bailey says “all of the M1 initiatives” would be reviewed and it is hoped they retain the rule about restricting trucks to the two left lanes.
However, he has also previously not ruled out a permanent reduction of speed limits on the M1, if a review found they made the motorway safer.
Our view
As a motorcyclist, I try to avoid the M1 and any other major highways because they are boring and motorcycles dangerously “disappear” among the heavy traffic.
I’d rather ride the back roads, anyway.
However, riders should be concerned about any government speed “reviews” as they only ever seem to result in reductions! Take, for example, the Oxley Highway!