The Victorian Opposition says it will raise the speed limit from 100km/h to 110km/h on the freeway and highway running from Melbourne through Geelong to Colac if it wins the state election in November.
The pledge centres on the Princes freeway and highway, which the Opposition says has been upgraded enough to justify the higher limit. The proposal comes almost a decade after a similar commitment from the then-Opposition in 2018, when Victoria Police and the Transport Accident Commission criticised the idea on safety grounds.
“By aligning speed limits on the Princes freeway and highway with the Hume and Calder, our plan will get Victorians where they need to be sooner,” Opposition Leader Jess Wilson said in a media statement.
During the 2018 Victorian State Election campaign, TAC chief executive Joe Calafiore argued the time gained would not justify the safety cost.
“When weighing up calls for a 10km/h speed limit increase between Geelong and Werribee, it’s worth considering a simple question: Is saving a bit more than two minutes in travel time worth the rise in deaths and injuries the increase would bring?,” Calafiore said.
“Given the proven links between higher speeds and increased road trauma, the Transport Accident Commission cannot support any call for a 110km/h limit on that stretch of the Princes Fwy.”
At that time, the TAC said it was not against 110km/h limits where conditions made them safe, but maintained the Princes Freeway was not suitable for such a change.
“The Princes Freeway is different in that it has three lanes and much higher traffic volumes, adding to the complexity of lane-changing manoeuvres and creating a more hazardous environment for motorists,” Calafiore said.
Wilson said in a media release that the route has since been fully duplicated and modernised in recent years, and that drivers should no longer be held to a 100km/h cap.
Over the roughly 150km trip, maintaining a constant 100km/h would mean a travel time of one hour and 30 minutes. At a constant 110km/h, the same journey would be cut by a little more than eight minutes.
Shadow Minister for Roads and Road Safety Danny O’Brien said those time savings mattered to people in the state’s west.
“Western Victorians are sick of sitting in traffic on a road that should be moving at freeway speed. This is a freeway-standard road and it’s time the speed limit reflected that,” O’Brien said in a media statement.
“The Princes freeway and highway is the primary link between Melbourne and Geelong, Colac, Warrnambool and the south-west, carrying freight, tourists and commuters every day. A consistent 110km/h limit will mean less time on the road and more time at home, at work or with family.
“Only an elected Liberal and Nationals Government will back western Victoria in and cut travel times between Melbourne and Colac.”
