Top End extends open speed limit

The Northern Territory has extended its open speed limit zone to include another 72km of the Stuart Highway, bringing the total to 276km.

The move will see the existing open speed limit trial on the Territory's main north-south thoroughfare extended from Barrow Creek to the Ali Curung Rail Overpass from September 1.

The extension follows first phase of an open speed limit trial on a 204km stretch of the highway -- starting 37km south of Barrow Creek and extending to 10km north of Alice Springs -- in effect since February 2014.

Territory Government said the move would be accompanied by $1.55 million worth of safety improvements and signage upgrades on the section of road, and delivers on its election promise to begin an evidence-based trial of open speed limits on the Stuart Highway.

"Over the past 10 years, there has not been a single speed-related fatality on this new stretch of road,” the Government said.

"While we are giving Territorians back this opportunity to set their own speed, it comes with the responsibility of driving to the road conditions, safely and within ones capabilities."

The extra stretch of road is accompanied by an extension of the 12-month trial that was due to expire in February this year. The NT Department of Transport will undertake a review of the trial to determine its success and future viability.

"While data analysis is still being finalised for the last quarter, road users have generally behaved very well during the trial period and have acted responsibly with the open speed limits," said the NT government.

"A review process will now be undertaken before other decisions are made about making the open speed limit zones permanent, or extending them to other locations."

NT Chief Minister Adam Giles has left the door open for further expansion of the open speed limit regime and sections of the Barkly Highway and the Stuart Highway north of Tennant Creek have also been mooted for open speed limit trials.

“While there are a lot of people who say they want open speed limits from Darwin to Katherine, that is a challenge,” he said.

Meanwhile, the NT transport minister Peter Chandler said he was “absolutely certain” open limits were the right move and believed drivers acted responsibly on the open sections during the trial.

“Before the open speed limits, the average punter that drove on those roads drove between 130-140 km/h," said Chandler.

“What they find today, after the open speed limit trial is completed, the average punter still drives between 130-140km/h. To me that demonstrates quite clearly that the average person out there is driving the road responsibly.”

The NT's famed open highway speed limits were scrapped in 2007, when they were replaced by 110 and 130km/h zones in return for increased Commonwealth funding.

Between then and 2012, more people died on Northern Territory roads (307) than in the six years before the change (292).

The Country Liberal Party promised a review of the new speed limits before it won the 2012 Territory election, resulting in the unlimited speed trial zones starting about 20km north of Alice Springs from early last year.

In January this year the NT government said it would extend the trial from February 1 after it found there were no speed-related deaths, injuries or accidents in the open speed zones during the trials.

"We haven't had a death on that section of road," Chandler said. "Whilst we've had deaths in the Territory in the past year or so, most of them are related to drink driving, seatbelt use and un-roadworthy vehicles."

However, there have been two caravan rollovers on the Stuart Highway in the past month, but it's unclear if speeds in excess of 100km/h were involved.