In the past couple of years, Australia’s speed limits have been under scrutiny by road safety experts and private drivers alike.
And with our country’s road fatality rate currently rising – with the latest data revealing that road deaths have increased 3.5 per cent year on year – dangerous driving habits such as speeding remain a key contributor to yearly fatalities.
As road authorities continue to combat rising road deaths in Australia with numerous safety blitzes targeting offending behaviour such as speeding, new data has revealed that drivers are divided by gender and generational lines on whether speed limits would make roads safer.
The 2026 Ipsos Mobility Report polled more than 20,000 people aged between 18 and 74 from 31 countries on their transport opinions.
It found 66 per cent of respondents supported stricter traffic laws, including reducing speed limits on freeways, main roads and residential streets.
However, just 60 per cent of Australian participants were in favour of stricter traffic laws – ranking among the countries with the lowest support for more stringent road rules.
The report revealed a stark difference between men and female drivers globally, with the latter overwhelmingly supporting decreased speed limits, particularly on major arterials.
The largest divide was among Baby Boomer respondents (drivers older than 62), with more than 61 per cent of women in favour of reducing speed limits on freeways, compared with just 47 per cent of Baby Boomer men.
But not every female Baby Boomer driver agrees. According to 69-year-old Victorian driver Dianne Loveday, increasing speed limits on state freeways is necessary for local motorists.
“I believe our freeway speed limits could be increased by 10 to 20km/h without any additional consequences such as accidents,” she told Drive.
“Modern cars are much safer than the [ones] that these roads were designed to carry, provided the roads are maintained properly."
Loveday – who’s been driving for approximately 50 years – said the difference in freeway speed limits between state laws was a key reason why she doesn't share the general sentiment among other drivers her age.
“South Australia already has higher speed limits than Victoria, and we cope when we travel there. Many drivers already speed, but because of the worry of being caught, [they] may not be as focused on the road as they should be,” she said.
While the road rule has divided Baby Boomers the most, Gen Z drivers showed the smallest variance – with approximately 55 per cent of men and an estimated 58 per cent of women in this age group – supporting lowered freeway speed limits.
As reported by Drive in February 2026, many Australians were in favour of scrapping P-plate speed restrictions across numerous states, with respondents stating that the lowered limit for novice drivers was more dangerous than having young drivers adhere to the speed limit.
Gen X women (aged 46 to 61) showed the highest support among all participants surveyed. Approximately 62 per cent of Gen X women supported reducing freeway speed limits, compared with less than 50 per cent of Gen X men.
But does lowering speed limits actually make roads safer? Yes, according to some Australian road safety experts, lowered speed limits can reduce the impact of a crash.
In November 2025, Professor Raphael Grzebieta from the Transport and Road Safety Research Centre (TARS) at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) said reducing the country’s default speed limits – from 100km/h to between 70 and 90km/h – gives crash victims a better chance at surviving an accident.
“[If you crash at] 100km/h, it’s like driving off the roof of a 12 or 13-storey building, hoping you’ll survive. Whereas at 80km/h, it’s off at the top of a six-storey building, so it’s almost half,” he told Drive last year.
“The [ANCAP safety] stars you see on those cars, they test them for a head-on crash at 64km/h, so you can walk away from a crash [at that speed] if you’ve got a five-star car. That’s why 80km/h is a reasonable limit, because at 80km/h you’ll have time to do a bit of braking and slow down,” he said.
While some drivers have called on road authorities to axe speed limit restrictions for young motorists, some state and territory governments will not budge and have confirmed that their speeding laws have saved lives and will continue to do so.
A Transport for NSW spokesperson told Drive in February 2026, “The safety of all road users is our highest priority. [Since] NSW’s Graduated Licensing Scheme was introduced in 2000, fatalities involving P-plate drivers have fallen by more than 50 per cent.”
“Speeding is the leading cause of road deaths in NSW, and the staged approach to speed allows young drivers to gain experience and improve hazard perception skills while reducing exposure to high-risk situations,” they said.
Ethan Cardinal graduated with a Journalism degree in 2020 from La Trobe University and has been working in the fashion industry as a freelance writer prior to joining Drive in 2023. Ethan greatly enjoys investigating and reporting on the cross sections between automotive, lifestyle and culture. Ethan relishes the opportunity to explore how deep cars are intertwined within different industries and how they could affect both casual readers and car enthusiasts.
