Editorial: End speed limit surprise for drivers

Speed limits on local roads are now set by councils. Photo / Alan Gibson

Local bodies can be forgiven if they had forgotten to renew the speed limits they are supposed to have set for roads in their city or district. Most of the public had probably forgotten - if they ever knew - that speeds on local roads are now set by their councils. The discovery that at least one council's limits have expired should cause the Government to do more than pass retrospective legislation as it did, urgently, this week. It should consider whether variable local speed limits are really wise.

Road safety relies on rules being consistent and well known. Drivers need to know the speed limits that apply on urban and rural roads no matter what locality they are in. There will be road signs to remind them, but it is better that the signs reflect the speeds expected. On state highways they can travel at 100km/h. Too many secondary roads also allow 100km/h but that is another issue. Generally, drivers know they can do 80km/h on sealed roads in the country and coming into a town they expect to be greeted by a 50km/h restriction.

Conditions in New Zealand do not vary so greatly that each locality needs to set its own speeds. It may be appropriate for councils to decide where special restrictions apply, such as outside school entrances or inside shopping precincts, but those speeds should also be fairly standard.

The power to set speed limits for all roads other than state highways was passed to councils by the previous Government in 2004. It was part of a greater widening of the role of local government at that time, which gave local bodies the right to do almost anything in the name of the social, economic, environmental or cultural wellbeing of their community. Public discussion, such as there was, concentrated on social and cultural possibilities that came into councils' remit. Delegated power to set speed limits was hardly noticed.

Nor does it appear to have been reviewed when the present Government passed amending legislation to better distinguish the respective roles of local and central government. Yet councils were supposed to be carrying out their first five-yearly review of the speeds they had set by then. It was only the recent discovery by the Kapiti District Council that its limits had expired which drove Transport Minister Simon Bridges to act.

The possibility that up to 25 councils have been similarly remiss, and that tens of thousands of speeding tickets are therefore invalid, left Mr Bridges with few options. Retrospective legislation was urgently required. But now that Parliament has passed it and Mr Bridges can relax, he might reflect on why the emergency arose.

It happened because setting speeds is clearly not a task ranking high in councils' consciousness. Even the Auckland Council, which adopted speeds set by the region's seven previous councils, was uncertain this week whether previous councils had carried out the five-year reviews. The road code is a national guide. Local variations should be minimal and nationally approved only where necessary. Surprises for drivers are dangerous for the vicinity.