In March,before the election,the then-Coalition government promised to lift the motorway speed limit to 90km/h from 80km/h in move it said would slash travel times and inject “billions” into the economy. Labor quickly matched the pledge.
That month there was a spike in the number of people caught speeding on WestConnex,with 5484 fines doled out,worth about $1.5 million. There were another 2588 fines in April and 3526 in May,the records show.
Roads Minister John Graham said the government was committed to increasing the limit but Transport for NSW and Transurban were still assessing the"safe implementation"of the change. That entails impacts on traffic volume and flow,and tunnel ventilation.
"Until then,the current speed limit will be enforced as it should be for the safety of all motorists,"he said. There was no estimated date for the change.
The proposed speed limit increase was welcomed by the Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils at the time,although they said it didn’t go far enough and should be 100km/h,while the Royal Australian College of Surgeons slammed it as an election stunt and “a race to the bottom on road safety”.
Premier Chris Minns announced on Sunday he would expedite changes to the NSW demerit point system to return a lost point to motorists after 12 months of clean driving,instead of three years.
Rather than starting on July 1,the trial will be backdated to January 17 this year. Drivers who have maintained “spotless behaviour” since then – and continue to do so until January 17,2024 – will get one point returned to them.