Transport Minister Simeon Brown says speed limit reductions driven by the previous government will be reversed by July 2025, as public consultation opens.
Road safety advocates have slammed the decision, stating it would cause "more road trauma and cost the economy", while representatives of the freight carriers welcomed the move.
In a statement, Brown said the draft speed limit rule would deliver on the National-ACT commitment to reverse the previous government's "blanket" speed limit reductions.
"The previous government's untargetted approach slowed Kiwis and the economy down, rather than targeting high crash areas of the network," Brown said.
"Our draft speed limit rule will require speed limits that have been reduced since January 1, 2020 to be reversed on local streets, arterial roads, and state highways.
"It will also require variable speed limits outside schools during pick up and drop off times to keep young New Zealanders safe."
Brown said it will ensure that when speed limits are set, economic impacts — including travel times — and the views of road users and local communities are taken into account, alongside safety.
Streets outside of schools would be required to have a 30km/h variable speed limit during school travel times and rural roads outside schools would be required to have variable speed limits of 60km/h or less under the new ruling.
Regulation Minister David Seymour said the "changes forced on communities" made it harder for people to get where they wanted quickly and safely.
"Worse still, people ignore rules that don't make sense and once the habit forms, they ignore rules that do make sense. Sensible lawmaking is important for respecting the rule of law," Seymour said.
Brown said the draft speed limit rule will enable new and existing Roads of National Significance to be travelled on at 110km/h where they are built to a high safety standard.
The Government is also seeking feedback from Kiwis on enabling speed limits of up to 120km/h on Roads of National Significance that are built and maintained to safely accommodate that speed.
"I encourage New Zealanders to submit feedback on our draft speed limit rule to reverse blanket speed limit reductions across the country," Brown said.
'More road trauma and cost to the economy'
Road safety charity Brake said the Government's move would be a "huge step backwards for road safety, likely resulting in more road trauma and costing the economy more".
The international charity's local director Caroline Perry said speed was often the "difference between life and death" in crashes.
"In many of these areas, schools, students, and residents have requested lower speed limits and other measures to help improve safety, and the zones have been subject to public consultation before being approved," Perry said.
“Speed is a critical factor in all road crashes and casualties. The faster you’re travelling, the greater your stopping distance is, the less time you have to react to an unexpected hazard, and the bigger the impact in the event of a crash."
She added that the move would "likely result in more families suffering devastating bereavements and life-changing injuries".
"There is overwhelming evidence that lower speeds save lives and reduce injuries."
The charity was concerned about proposals to remove existing lower-speed residential zones around schools and revert to variable speed limits around school gates.
She said the economic cost of crashes was also reduced by lower speeds.
Higher speeds help reduce freight labour costs — RCA
By contrast, the National Road Carriers Association — the organisation representing supply chain companies — welcomed the changes.
"Setting speed limits for Roads of National Significance of up to 120km/h and reversing speed limits for local streets, arterial roads and state highways will help to reduce travel times and therefore labour costs for freight operators and speed up the delivery of goods to stores and consumers," said chief executive of the group Justin Tighe-Umbers.
“In some cases it will mean operators will be able to extend the length of trips before having to make compulsory rest stops – which will be a game-changer.”
“We are delighted the Government plans to push these proposed changes through public consultation and launch them on July 1, 2025.”
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