Maintaining 50 km/h Residential Speed Limits in Australia: An Evidence Review

Australia should keep the 50 km/h speed limit in residential areas. We shouldn't introduce blanket 30 km/h zones across the board. Here's why. Only 13 per cent of road deaths happen in areas with 50 km/h limits or lower. The other 87 per cent happen elsewhere—mostly on rural and regional roads. The world's safest countries keep 50 km/h as their urban default, using 30 km/h zones only in specific high-risk places. And changing everything to 30 km/h would cost somewhere between $135 million and $173 million nationally.