A proposal to increase the speed limit on the Hume Highway to 120km/h would lead to "carnage", according to an expert.
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Roads Minister Duncan Gay said the state government will consider 120km/h speed limits for the Hume Highway and other major roads, to bring speed limits in line with those in Europe, where fatalities are lower than those in Australia.
But Sydney University's Professor Stephen Greaves, who researches driving and speeding habits, greeted the news grimly.
"My view is it would be carnage if they did it in Australia," Professor Greaves said. "We know from research that if the limit is 120km/h they will drive at 130km/h."
Professor Greaves said drivers in Germany, where some motorways do not have speed limits, are trained to deal with high-speed situations; Australian drivers are not.
Mr Gay said the limit would be reduced in wet weather and depend on several new road measures.
Campbelltown state MP Bryan Doyle, a former police officer, said more discussion was needed.
"Safety is always a paramount consideration — and that goes for all speed limits, whether it be 110km/h on the motorway or 10km/h at the end of Queen Street," Mr Doyle said.
There was a mixed reaction from Advertiser online readers.
Some readers offered strong support while others called for more training on motorway rules — such as keeping to the left lane.
"Unless they raise the P-plate limit it will be ridiculous, it is hard enough trying to change lanes and get where you need to be going," Kaitlyn Munro wrote.
"As a P-plater we get abused when we do the speed limit and abused when we don't."
Mr Doyle said learner limits of 80km/h and P-plate limits of 90km/h and 100km/h were "an issue" that would need to be considered.
But he added: "Some of our dual-lane, separated roads are some of the best in the world. It would obviously make for a more timely and quicker trip."
The transport minister said the only circumstances he would consider increasing speed limits would be in cases such as the Hume and Pacific highways when extensive road work had been undertaken — "including not only the current lane duplication but also full grade separation to remove all interchanges."
