Bandar Seri Begawan - Bruneians yesterday gave mixed responses when sought for an opinion whether speed limits in Brunei should be raised, after a study conducted in Utah, United States found that it was safe to raise their speed limit.

"What's the point in raising the speed limit?" questioned a car enthusiast who did not want to be named.

The professional, who spends his free time restoring cars, said that Brunei already sees a high number of accidents per ratio of people, and an in-depth study needs to be conducted before any decisions are made.

"Motorists in Brunei are already driving fast, raising the speed limit in certain areas would mean raising the risk to road users and the public to serious accidents," he said. 9 love my cars, but motorists everywhere around the world, not just in Brunei, need to remember that speed kills."

Ahmad Tarmizi called for the use of best practices from other countries to see how applicable it would be for Brunei. "The case of how and why for speed limits to be raised or lowered needs to be studied."

Sky Lim, a Universiti Brunei Darussalam student, felt that the current speed limits are irrelevant as not all motorists observe the posted limits in Brunei. "It doesn't really matter if they raise it or not because no one follows the current limit anyway."

"Brunei's speed limit is quite irrelevant in terms of safety. Regardless of the limit, people used to driving fast will still do so as long as they feel they are considerate to other road users and their passengers."

Lim also said that those who prefer to drive slow will still stick to driving slow at their own pace. "Even when driving slow, drivers who do so recklessly weaving in and out of lanes, not indicating or observing the rules are also dangers to other drivers."

Christopher Roo, who works with his father, said that some areas definitely need to be reviewed. "The Istana (Nurul Iman) area limit is 50km/h but no one sticks to it," he said.

Jay-jay Gabriel, 26, said that speed limits may be raised on highways to accommodate commuters but could consider other initiatives, including a separate route for commercial vehicles.

"Drivers stuck behind trucks are usually held up, especially on the sections where the road is single lane, the impatient will often try to overtake, which is dangerous," said the Kuala Belait resident, adding that more speed bumps around schools and residential areas can prevent speeding.

A report from the United States pointed to a similar accident history since 2008 when the Utah Department of Transportation raised posted limits to 128km/h from 120km/h.

Since motorists were already driving at speeds greater than the original limit, the effect meant drivers were now within the law, rather than worsening highway safety, the report stated.-- Courtesy of The Brunei Times

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