A 336km stretch of the Stuart Highway in central Australia now has no speed limit, and the Northern Territory government wants to extend open speeds all the way to Katherine.
Another 60km section of the Stuart Highway has been opened to create a continuous 336km open speed stretch of the Stuart Highway from Alice Springs to the Ali-Curung turn-off.
This year's budget includes $1 million for the next 17km section, extending towards Wycliffe Well. A re-elected CLP government says it would also fund improvements for stretches of the highway between the Devils Marbles to Tennant Creek, Mataranka and Larrimah, and Daly Waters to Dunmarra.
No one was killed in the 11 crashes that occurred during the 2014 trial period, Chief Minister Adam Giles said.
He said data shows drivers have only slightly increased their speed in the open speed sections, with 85 per cent driving between 133 and 139 kph, just over the usual NT limit of 130kph.
"There hasn't been a marked difference. There's been a high sense of people making the decision to drive at speeds their cars are capable of," Mr Giles told ABC local radio on Friday.
The government has been fulfilling its 2012 election promise bit by bit, he said.
"You want to get the road structure right, (but) you want to work with people to get them to change behaviour carefully," Mr Giles said.
"Unfortunately there will always be accidents, most of them are because people are drunk or not wearing seat belts... we continue to run education campaigns."
On his Facebook page, many posters were appreciative of the news.
"(This) is going to allow people to arrive at their destination earlier, and safer by allowing more time to rest, and less over all driving time. This will reduce fatigue, which is the biggest cause of accidents on the open highways," Alex Cox wrote.
Lance Blatchford wrote: "Well done NT. Maybe other states can learn from you. Nothing better than allowing people to be responsible for themselves.
"I appreciate NT government NOT being a nanny state."
But Bryan Littely said it was a backwards step for road safety: "Goes against everything millions of dollars has been spent trying to achieve.
"While Territorians might be sensible (doubtful), you're not taking the keys off non-Territorians when they cross the border," he wrote.
