Speed limits in Australia

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Main article: Speed limit

50 km/h speed limit sign

35km/h speed advisory sign above a keep left sign

Speed limits in Australia range from 10 km/h (5 mph) Shared Zones to 110 km/h (70 mph). Speed limit signage is in km/h since metrication on 1 July 1974. All speed limits (with the sole exception of the South Australian school and roadworks zones which are signposted at 25 km/h) are multiples of 10 km/h - the last digit in all speed signs is zero. Advisory speed signs for curves or other road obstacles all end in the digit five.

Australian states and territories use two "default" speed limits. These apply automatically in the absence of 'posted' speed restriction signage. The two default speed limits are:

within built-up areas, 50 km/h (30 mph).
outside built-up areas, 100 km/h (65 mph). Two exceptions are Western Australia at 110 km/h (70 mph), and the Northern Territory (NT), which does not have a rural default speed limit, here 'speed derestriction' applies. This policy is due to end in January 2007, when a rural speed limit of 110 km/h will be introduced, except on selected roads, where it will be 130 km/h [1].

Common speed zones below the default built up area 50 km/h limit are:

Shared zones (signposted areas where pedestrians and motorised traffic share the same space) are 10 km/h (5 mph)
School zones are 40 km/h (25 mph) during posted school times, except in South Australia, where they are 25 km/h (15 mph) when children are present.
40 km/h zones. A number of councils have implemented lower speed limits, typically 40 km/h (25 mph), in certain areas, such as shopping precincts, or even in whole suburbs such as Balmain and Rozelle in Sydney.

Common speed zones above the default limits are:

Many sub-arterial roads are zoned 60 km/h (40 mph)
Major connector roads and smaller highways are zoned 70 km/h, 80 km/h or 90 km/h (45, 50 or 55 mph).
Some Highways and freeways are zoned 110 km/h (70 mph)

The Northern Territory signals the end of its built-up area default -or end of a posted speed restriction sign on a length of road leading to a rural environment- by use of the ‘speed-derestriction’ sign (). This is an international road traffic sign held in all "United Nations Conventions on Road Traffic, Road Signs and Signals", where it is catalogued as a C,17a - meaning "End of all local prohibitions imposed on moving vehicles". That said, certain license holders, such as learner drivers are restricted in speed by 'license conditions'. Heavy vehicles are also speed restricted by way of separate vehicle construction (speed limiters) and other legal regulations. NT police do NOT tolerate dangerous speeds or behaviour when in areas. The speed derestriction sign has the same UN meaning in Australian Standard 1742.4 of 1999. This is still current.

Also used in growing numbers to signal the end of a posted speed restriction - leading to a rural area default speed limit - is the ‘END’ speed-limit sign. This is a unique Australian-designed sign which contains the word "END" and a number in a circle beneath this, which represents the ceasing speed limit. It is typically used where the road beyond has certain hazards such as hidden driveways, poor camber, soft edges and other hazards where the road authority feels a posted speed limit sign might be too dangerous or otherwise unwarranted. It is intended to invoke particular caution. Again, the rural default applies as a maximum.

Speed traps are used in almost all areas of the country including NT above. Tolerance is from 8% to 10% in most states but only 3 km/h in Victoria, an issue which has caused a lot of controversy in that state. Measures used are police radar, fixed speed cameras, unmarked stationary cameras, fixed 'point to point' cameras and laser.

[edit] Differences between states and territories

Despite introduction of uniform national road rules across the states in 1999, significant differences remain between states and territories.

State / Territory	School zone	Built-up area	Rural area	Highest speed zone
Australian Capital Territory	40	50	All urban	100
New South Wales	40	50	100	110
Northern Territory	40	60	(110 from 2007)	(130 from 2007)
Queensland	40 or 60	50	100	110
South Australia	25	50	100	110
Tasmania	40	50	100	110
Victoria	40 or 60 depending on limit of road	50	100	110
Western Australia	40	50	110	110

[edit] Historical limits

Prior to the 1930s the urban default speed limit was 30 mph (48 km/h). This was increased to 35 mph (56 km/h) over the next 30 years by each of the states and territories, with NSW the last to change, in May 1964. The rural default speed limit speed limit (where it existed) was 65 mph (105 km/h). With metrication on 1 July 1974 all limits and advisory signs were converted to the nearest 10 km/h, so the urban limit became 60 km/h and the rural limit 110 km/h, a slight increase for both. These limits were altered to their current values after the introduction of uniform national road rules across the states in 1999.

In most states the introduction of an urban default limit of 50 km/h was watered down by the 60 km/h urban speed limit being retained on most roads already signed as 60 km/h. There is also a 70 km/h limit on some better arterial roads. Some non-signed roads were made 60 km/h. A few 60 km/h urban arterials or sub-arterials have since been limited to 50 km/h, after representations by local councils. Some councils have also sought and established lower speed limits, typically 40 km/h, to apply throughout certain areas. An example is the Balmain/Rozelle peninsula in Sydney and parts of the Sydney CBD.