It is surprising how little the overall journey time is affected by a lower speed limit that reflects the safe and appropriate speed for the road environment.
Most drivers travel much slower than the posted speed limit on our local rural roads. This is because the road may have many corners, is narrow or unsealed. Most people naturally go slower in these circumstances. In our urban areas, your average journey speed ranges between 26km/h and 33km/h, and even slower during peak times in some of our Northland towns.
In Northland, many of our journeys on local roads are relatively short, with a typical journey being between 5km and 10km. This is because we tend to use the State Highway Network to reach more distant destinations.
Setting a safe and appropriate speed will reduce the top end of the speed spectrum, but will not normally impact on the average speed most people drive at. This creates a much safer driving environment for everyone.