Dr Bittar’s email to Kangaroo Island’s Mayor, councillors and Council CEO, 2012.05.07
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I read with interest item 15.5 for Council meeting of May 9th and I’m glad that Council will consider grappling seriously the matter of speed limits on the island.
In this useful exercise of putting all ideas and notions on the table, I’d like to offer a few further lines of thought for your consideration.
Under Economic considerations:
I remember, from my days as a councillor in Switzerland, that a lowering of the speed limit of 20% could lower by ca 35% the wear and tear of roads — it’s a rough number of course, because not every vehicle drives at the maximum speed limit, and the highest wear is of course due to the heaviest trucks; but considering that the latter tend to drive at the maximum speed, this 35% estimation is most likely a minimum. This is an estimation for bitumen roads, the lowering of wear could be much higher on rubble roads. Roads being such a large part of this Council expenses, this should be a major strategic consideration.
Most tourists are horrified at the number of road kills on KI, and this has a very negative impact on tourism prospects. A lowering of 10% of the speed would lower by ca 21% the time needed for driver reaction and the energy impact, lowering the number of roadkills AND both the number of vehicles needing repair and the severity of wreckage.
Under Social considerations:
A lowering of the speed limit would make the KI roads feel safer for everyone, and would be an encouragement to use pushbikes, which for the time being are very dangerous to use when the speed limit is 110 km/h with the very narrow KI road shoulders.
Tourists are not aware of the peculiar conditions of driving on dirt roads, lower speed limits would be a signal that their life and health is taken into consideration.
Under Environmental considerations:
The [Council admin] remark “The implications of lower speed limits are not completely understood with regards to whether vehicles will be more or less fuel / emissions efficient at lower speeds given trade-off between speed and time.“… is very strange. It flies in the face of physical reality and all scientific studies on the matter… Just for memory: when the USA introduced a drastic lowering of speed limits during the oil crisis of 1974, it was for saving fuel… and it worked very well while ongoing.
I finally wish to remind of the appropriateness on KI to have, like in Tasmania, lower speed limits between sunset and sunrise. That would be the most efficient way of protecting our much prized wildlife (most of which of course is nocturnal).
You’ll find some more information on this speed limit matter on the two following posts:
Thanks for your attention and regards
Gabriel Bittar
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On 2012.05.09, Council resolved to leave the speed limits in their current format (from the information forwarded to the webmaster, these were councillors Connell, Davis, Boxall, Denholm and Willson vs councillors Liu, Walkom and Clements.