The scariest roads I’ve ever been on were Moe-Rawson Road, and Walhalla Road. The two roads that lead up to Walhalla. The speed limit was either 80 or 100, but there were many sections where it was blind twists and turns, and no guardrails guarding a very steep drop off the road. It would’ve been completely unsafe to drive at 80. Even 40 felt like it was pushing it. Going up is okay, because you’re on the inside so you’d only be rammed into a mountain. But coming down (back towards Moe), all it would take to be flung off the side of the mountain is somebody doing 80 while coming up and not being in their lane (probably impossible at that speed with turns that tight).
That’s really the only road I’ve automatically felt unsafe on as a passenger. Oh, and at the start of the road there’s a very bright red sign that says something like “U TURN FOR LAST FUEL. NEXT SERVICE STATION 300KM” or something like that
It would’ve been completely unsafe to drive at 80
That’s why it’s called a speed limit, emphasis on limit. I believe limits should be set at a point such as you describe - a speed which reasonable people would consider clearly unsafe for a road. Drivers should then use their judgement of the corners/visibility, the current conditions, and their vehicle to choose a speed safe for their particular circumstances - this will obviously vary widely for different parts of the road, different conditions, and different vehicles. Setting speed limits to a point where you can safely drive the slowest sections of the road in poor conditions makes them effectively recommended speeds rather than limits, and I believe this trend has (and will continue to have) a negative effect on driver skill levels.
I believe limits should be set at a point such as you describe - a speed which reasonable people would consider clearly unsafe for a road.
I agree with this. The issue is (as always) people. If you feel like 85 is about as fast as this stretch of road is, but the jerk tailgating you is itching to do the 90 speed limit, we get an unsafe scenario.
Eventually, our mate gets past you and starts doing 90. He then fails to slow enough for a curve up ahead and goes off the road. Yes, the accident is his own stupid fault, but could it have been prevented with an 80 limit? Get a few fools doing that, and a new limit ends up being Vic Roads’ response.
Regional Victoria is one of the only places I’ve driven where I felt some speed limits were set at the edge of, or slightly beyond the speed I felt comfortable.
This is 100% correct.
With the lack of public transport infrastructure, and social expectations, more people who don’t have the skill level to be driving, or don’t have the maturity level to be driving, are (ab)using our roads.
Meanwhile, said individuals with low profile tyres are speeding over potholes and suing VicRoads, diverting public funds from public road repairs to private wheel repairs.
Australian ADRs need to be updated to a minimum tyre profile to get these completely impractical vehicles off the roads.
Are they a jerk for following you? Most of the time people new to the road travel slower due to being unsure about turns, while it feels like regulars are tailing you because they are comfortably rounding corners at an extra 5kph and you feel pressured. Do a favor for both of your sakes and let them pass – you now longer feel pressure to drive past you comfort zone and they wont get riled up and do something stupid.
Strangely enough the road I felt most unsafe on was the Heathcote-Seymour Rd. When I used to live in Heathcote we travelled that route regularly and I lost count of the number of times we almost hit a roo. Especially on a misty morning and the buggers would just come bounding out in front of the car, and there were lots of them around there too.
