Alternative headline: National to spend $30m to sacrifice some of your lives so our trip is slightly faster.
The changes have been endorsed by transport researchers and street safety advocates as effective measures to help reduce the number of Kiwis killed and injured on the roads.
That’s all there is to it.
Ditto the Napier-Taupo. There’s a section on the Western side that’s 80 well after it needs to, and ditto at the bottom of the Esk Valley - but all of the rest of it just isn’t a 100km/h road, despite what the munters in their Hilux’s think.
I drove that road just before the new limits came in, my impression was the sections that needed to be 80 already were, and a competent driver could easily travel at 100 on the rest.
It’s also worth noting the road was in appalling condition, with a number of spots of flushing, as well as a ridiculous amount of potholes. I managed to wheelspin going up a hill at 80 kmh, the traction was that bad.