Coalition Pledges 110km/h M1 Limit

The road to November’s state election has taken an interesting turn— at least for motorists in Melbourne’s west, Geelong and southwest Victoria.

Earlier this week, Liberal leader Jess Wilson announced the Coalition will raise the speed limit of the Princes Freeway from 100km/h to 110km/h between Laverton North and Colac.

Wilson said the proposed changes would cut travel times, ease congestion and bring the Princes in line with other freeways in Victoria.

“By aligning speed limits on the Princes freeway and highway with the Hume and Calder, our plan will get Victorians where they need to be sooner,” Ms Wilson said.

“People travelling on the Princes shouldn’t be stuck in the slow lane.”

Wilson also claims a revised speed limit on the “modern and duplicated” road would help Geelong, Surf Coast and Colac commuters shave their travel times.

Lower limits would remain in place through towns like Winchelsea.

Government Unlikely to Reconsider Limit 

While parts of rural Australia and other corners of the globe have speed limits well over 110km/h, not everyone is so eager to go up a gear.

Wyndham TV understands that the state government opposes the idea due to the current Victorian Speed Zoning Policy which only permits raising the speed limit if roads meet a certain safety criteria, including road design, well-spaced and traffic volumes under 25,000 vehicles per day.

It is understood that the sections of the M1 between Laverton North and Colac do meet these state requirements.

In 2018, the Department of Transport and Planning commissioned a review of the speed limit on the Princes Highway between Werribee and Winchelsea, to investigate if it would be safe to raise the speed limit to 110 km/h.

The report concluded that this could increase crashes by approximately 25 per cent across the different sections of the Princes Freeway and Princes Highway, and estimated travel time savings of only a few minutes in free-flowing traffic conditions.